Waking Up in Storybrook
by CharmingsDaughter
Summary: OUAT AU - Ella Noland wakes up in a place she doesn't know surrounded by three individuals she doesn't recognize who tell her that they are her sister and her parents. Got this idea from a fanfic called "Welcome to Storybrook" but I put my own twist on it. What is if the Charming's had another daughter who woke up and had no memory of them? I don't own Once Upon A Time/Characters
1. Chapter 1

Ella woke up and looked around and didn't recognize where she was. She saw a blond woman sitting in the chair next to her bed and another dark haired woman laying at the end of the bed.

Ella heard footsteps coming toward the room where she was and around the corner came a handsome gentleman who immediately ran to her side when he saw her almost spilling whatever was in his hand.

"Ella! Snow, Emma, wake up!" The man said to the confusion of Ella.

The man put his hands on her face and kisses her head as the two women came to

They to immediately rushed to be close to her and were expressing their joy at seeing her awake. Ella didn't understand any of this.

"Ella?" The blond woman said with a concerned look

"Who are you guys? Ella finally said

"The dark haired woman immediately started crying and the man was comforting her

The blond woman sat on the bed and looked directly at Ella. "Ella, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I need you to answer them as best you can okay?"

"Okay, but can you tell me where I am?" Ella asked starting to panic at the fact she didn't know how she had managed to get to this house with these people

"You're in Storybrook Maine" the blond woman said seeing the panic in Ella's eyes.

"I know that place" Ella said feeling a little better

"Good!" Said the blond, "now, can you tell me your name?"

"You just said it, It's Ella" Ella said I little confused by the question being they already knew the answer.

"Good, what's your last name?" The blond continues

This one took Ella a minute but then she remembered what she thought might be the right answer. "Nelson"

"Alright, how old are you?" The blond asked the next question

"17" Ella answered

"Okay and who are your parents?" The blond asked a little hesitant

Did she even have parents? All of her memory was so foggy that she honestly couldn't remember.

"I don't know" Ella replied beginning to cry a little.

"It's okay, the blond said" seeing how distressed she was.

"What happened?" Ella started to get upset

"Ella you and Emma got into a car accident and she hit your head pretty hard. You have been unconscious for the last few days" said the man who now had his arm around the dark haired woman

"Who is Emma?" Ella asked

"I am" said the blond "I'm also your sister"

"I have a sister?" Ella said starting to feel guilty for forgetting that "So if you are my sister are they our brother and sister to?" Ella said pointing at the couple.

The blond, Emma, started laughing "No, those are actually our parents but they do look young, we will explain it all in time" she reassured Ella.

"Okay, so you're my sister, there my parents, our parents, and we are in Storybrook Main. Did I get that right?" Ella said trying to make sure she got everything straight

"Yes sweetheart" the dark haired woman said

"Okay, now what are your names, besides mom and dad" she said pointing at the people she was told were her parents

"My name is Snow, and this is David" the dark haired, Snow said

"Okay" Ella said trying to put all the things she was told to memory before she moved on

"And so I got into a car accident and hit my head and that's why I can't remember right?" Ella continued

"Yes el, that's all right" David said with a smile.

"So what is our last name?" Ella asked knowing that she had just guessed on that question

"Nice catch kid! Your last name is Noland so you weren't too far off!" Said Emma

"What do you mean my last name? Isn't it all of our last names?" Ella said catching Emma's phrasing

"Well you're still perceptive as ever. My last name is Swan but that will be explained later okay?" Emma reassured Ella.

"Are you hungry? Snow asked

"Um...sure" Ella said

"Okay I'll go make some grilled cheese" Snow said exiting the room

"She does that when she feels helpless, you'll get...well re-used to it" Emma said sarcastically

"Ignore her" David said "We were really worried about you is all"

"Can I use the restroom?" Ella asked feeling a need to escape their stairs

"Of course! But let me help you, you haven't walked in a few days so your legs may not be stable quite yet" David said coming up to the side of the bed

"Thanks" Ella said as she put her arm around David's shoulders so he could support her weight

He had been right that her legs were a bit unstable so she was glad he had been there.

"Just yell when you're done and I'll help you back to bed"

Once she was alone, Ella broke down into tears from pure frustration of wanting so desperately wanting to remember these people who claimed to be her family. But she knew that they would probably be listening so she tried to cry as silently as she could with very little success.


	2. Chapter 2

Ella knew that David, her father was waiting for her outside the bathroom so she quickly pulled herself together and pretended to wash her hands before allowing him to reenter and help her back to the bed.

Just as David had finished putting the blankets back over her Snow came around the corner with a small tray that contained a grilled cheese and a hot chocolate with cinnamon on top.

She smiled at her mom before sitting up in the bed so she could properly eat the food. Ella felt so awkward with all of them standing around watching her eat.

"You guys want some?" She asked, not knowing what else to do in the moment. They all burst into laughter at the situation realizing how much tension had built up that they hadn't even noticed that they were probably making Ella feel very uncomfortable.

"I mad enough for all of us" Snow said after composing herself. "Why don't we go into the kitchen and give Ella a few minutes to eat in peace?"

The three all walked toward the kitchen and shut the door behind them. Ella felt a sense of relief flow over her. This was all so overwhelming. She felt terrible that she didn't remember them but she didn't know how to make her memories come back. Maybe they had a journal of hers or a phone where she could see text messages or pictures to jog her memory. She would have to ask when they came back.

"At least their nice" Ella thought to herself thinking about what it would have been like to wake up to angry people.

She finished her food and set the tray aside as she felt her eyes begin to get heavy. All the excitement had made her tired.

"Maybe if I take a nap I will wake up with all of my memories back" she thought as she allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep.

OUAT

"What are we going to do?" Snow said when she knew they were out of earshot of Ella's room.

"Well it's not like we haven't dealt with memory loss before" Emma chimed in a bit sarcastically

"Yes but not like this. Before it was a curse. This time it's her own mind that is keeping her from remembering" David said sounding a bit defeated

"Maybe there is some kind of magic I can learn that would help to bring back her memories!" Emma said excitedly

"It's worth a shot" David said feeling a little hopeful

"You can look into it but until Ella gets her memories back you shouldn't use magic in front of her, it may scare her because everything here is going to be a new experience until she gets her memory back" Snow said wanting to make Ella as comfortable as possible

"I can live with that" Emma said taking a bite of her sandwich

"We need to keep her home for the next few days if not for her health for her sanity to make sure we ease her into all of this as smoothly as possible." David said almost to himself trying to think through how to handle everything

"Agreed" Snow said bringing David back "I'll get a sub at the school and go pick up her homework so she won't be too far behind"

"Good idea" David said before a long pause "I hate this! I hate that there is nothing we can do to help our daughter! It's just like when you we came back from Camelot and we didn't know how to help you defeat the darkness" David said looking at Emma.

"Dad, we're going to figure this out! Don't Worry!" Emma said trying her best to keep a strong face. "I'm going to head out to Regina's right now and see if she has any spell that could help her as well as inform Henry on how she's doing. I love that kid but he hasn't stopped texting me for updates"

"Be careful please" Snow begged as Emma walked toward the door

Emma could hear the fear in her mother's voice. It was only a week ago that she had been standing in a hospital room with both of her daughters, one pretty banged up and the other in a coma.

"I promise" Emma said before heading out the door.

"We better go check on Ella" Charming said looking toward the room

"You're right" Snow said as she walked over to her husband

OUAT

David knocked on Ella's door with no answer so he quietly open the door and saw his beautiful daughter sound asleep. He and snow just held each other while they look on at her. They were both thinking the same thing _what if we lost her?_ but they hadn't and that was what mattered. She was safe now, even if she didn't know it.


	3. Chapter 3

Ella slowly drifted off to sleep hoping that the morning would bring new memories as to who these people were, but more importantly, who she was.

OUAT

"I Will always find you" Came a voice from the darkness. Suddenly a Tv appeared in front of Ella.

As it came into focus she could see a couple kissing. When the camera finally showed their faces she saw it was Snow and David, the two who said they were her parents.

Soon the screen changed and she saw Emma, the girl who told her she was her sister. As the TV continued to play suddenly it cut to a commercial and then black.

Ella kept looking around but all she could see was black.

All of a sudden the TV came back on and it was a television show where they were interviewing Snow and David and Emma but this time they had different names.

Finally it dawn on Ella. They were actors in a television show that she loved. It was Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison and Josh Dallas from Once Upon A Time. She had always joked about wanting to be part of the Charming family but she knew it was only a TV show but now she couldn't figure out what was the dream and what was the reality.

Suddenly she was falling

OUAT

Ella woke up grasping the bed and yelling as her body had broken out into a cold sweat.

Within seconds David and Snow were busting through the door to find out what was wrong.

David wrapped his arms around her to try and comfort her. "It's okay baby, it's okay. I'm here" he kept repeating over and over again

Snow ran her fingers through her hair and looked at her husband as she was at a loss for how to comfort Ella. She would randomly have nightmares but she had never had one this bad.

Once Ella calmed down David laid her back in her bed and wiped away the hair on her face.

"Ella honey, do you wanna talk about your dream?" Snow asked not wanting to push her too much.

"No. I'm sorry I woke you up" Ella said not wanting to make eye contact.

"Ella that's what we're here for" David reassured her, "We're you're parents, it's what we do"

"It's okay you had a nightmare Ella, and you don't have to talk about it but if you need to we're here okay?" Snow said laying a kiss on Ella's head.

"Okay" was all Ella could say.

"You go ahead and go back to sleep sweetheart." David said

"We're right down stairs if you need us" Snow added

The two kissed her goodnight and headed back to their room.

OUAT

Ella's head was spinning. So were they really her parents or was she dreaming? Or where they actors from her favorite television show and her dream was actually reality. She was so confused and frightened.

Ella was too awake to try and go back to sleep so she decided to try and walk to the kitchen and get a glass of water to try and clear her head.

Thankfully her legs easily picked up where they had left off before the coma and she was able to walk down stairs with no issues. Once she had her class of water she looked around the small loft. She was surprised she hadn't woken Emma with all her screaming but being up in the loft must have muffled the noise. Then again, her room was the only one with a door, Emma's was open as well as her parents.

This place seemed so familiar yet strange. She was starting to feel overwhelmed and knew she needed to get out. She looked around and saw her parents had fallen right back to sleep but left the curtain open, assuming it was so they could better hear her if she had another nightmare.

This made it slightly more difficult to sneak out but defiantly not impossible. Ella quietly walked over to the door where she picked up a pair of boots that looked like they could be her size and a coat that was hanging up by the door and twisted the nob as quietly as she possibly could and only opened it as wide as she needed to simply squeeze out the door. Once she was on the other side she waited a moment to hear if there was any movement inside the loft before heading down the stairs to explore where she was.


	4. Chapter 4

Ella began walking around the town on Storybrook. Looking around she was glad that she had a chance to look around before the town before it was filled with people trying to talk to her and act like they know her. Maybe they did maybe they didn't but she would know the difference.

As she looked around she couldn't shake the memories from her dream. Where these people actors? Had she somehow gotten herself sucked into an alternate universe? It sounded stranger and stranger the more she talked about it.

She then remembered that Snow had said she and Emma had gotten into an accident. She decided to see if she could figure out where. She started walking down the road and saw nothing that seemed like it had been hit and there were no skid marks.

Ella continued to walk until she found what must have been the place of the accident. After what seemed like an eternity Ella saw a huge sign laying in a heap and a red line spray painted across the road. She and Emma must have hit the town sign but she couldn't tell if they were coming or going.

She decided to turn around and head back to the loft before anyone knew she was missing. Even though she didn't remember any one person she knew these streets like the back of her hand which made no sense to her.

OUAT

Ella got to the door and put her ear up to it to see if she could hear any movement on the other side. When she didn't hear anything she carefully opened the door and slid in. She then quietly took off her shoes and was headed back to the corner room.

Ella opened the door to find Emma sitting on her bed.

"Mom and Dad would have killed you if they found out you snuck out"

"What are you doing here?"

"I woke up when you screamed and then I heard you walking around down here and wanted to make sure you were okay. Then I watched you sneak out and decided to cover for you instead of ratting you out"

"Well thanks for that"

"So why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Sneak out"

"I wasn't sneaking out necessarily"

"Sure you were, I've done it enough times to know."

"I just needed to clear my head and try and see if something jogged my memory"

"Did anything do that for you?"

"Unfortunately no"

"Well I have a little thing that should help"

Emma pulled out a small vile with blue liquid in it and handed it to Ella

"It's a potion that is supposed to help bring back your memory. Wither you remember or not, this is a place full of magic"

"Magic? I don't believe in magic"

"Well you will after living here for a little bit. And before this accident you were the biggest believer in magic besides Henry"

"Henry?"

"My Son? You're Nephew? Man that accident did a number on you"

"So what do you want me to do this this?"

"Drink it"

"What if you're trying to kill me?"

"Why would I try to kill you?"

"I don't know, I don't remember anything so how do I know if you hated me before this?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't have been in a car with you if I hated you"

"But the car crashed, who says you didn't do it on purpose? I mean, I ended up in a coma and you seem to have walked away without a scratch"

"You don't have to believe me but if you want to remember who you are, you'll drink that. If not, you're going to keep being suspicious of everyone around you"

And with that Emma walked back to her room

OUAT

Ella sat on her bed and stared at the small vile in her hand and kept going back and forth about withe or not to drink it. She did want to remember but she also was scared that maybe Emma was trying to hurt her.

Ultimately she decided to take the vile. Once she swallowed, everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

**Decided to update this story. This chapter starts the same but the ending is much different and I decided to add some more chapters. Stay Posted!**

Ella woke up surrounded by her parents and her sister.

"It Worked" Emma said pleased with herself

"Emma, when did you give her this?" David asked confused at when Ella had the time to take the potion

"Um...last night. After you guys went to bed I came down and offered it to her. Now to find out if it works"

Emma sat down on the bed and began to question Ella.

"Alright first question, what is your name?"

Ella looked around the room and all of a sudden everything came back to her.

"Emma I remember! We were in a car accident on our way back from Boston. Then I lost my memory and you gave me that potion last night after you caught me sneaking back in"

"You did what?" David said in a raised voice

"You did that one to yourself kid, I wasn't going to say anything" Emma said looking at her little sister sympathetically

"Emma Ruth!" Snow scolded

"What? If your big sister doesn't cover for you when you do something stupid who will?" Emma said trying to help Ella out

"We can come back to all this because we are definitely not done talking about it" David chimed in. "Do you remember your name honey?"

"My name is Ella Noland. I'm 17 Years old and I'm the youngest child of Snow White and Prince Charming and I live in Storybrook Maine and I have one sister named Emma" Ella rattled off.

"Oh Ella!" Snow said running to hug her daughter. "You're back!"

"Well I have to get to work, good luck kid" Emma said messing up Ella's hair and grabbing her jacket.

"Be careful Em, I'll be in once we are finished here" David said before Emma left

"Will do, take your time"

OUAT

After Emma left Ella was hungry so the three of them moved into the kitchen where Snow began to make the trio some eggs and toast.

"Now Ella I'm glad you have your memory back and I know you're still recovering from the accident but what in the world were you thinking sneaking out?" David asked a little frustrated with his youngest.

"I was overwhelmed and I had had that nightmare and I couldn't remember anything so I decided to see if walking around town would jog my memory"

"Ella that was at least 3am, you could have been hurt! What if you had passed out? No one would have found you till morning and it's cold outside!"

"Dad, I brought a coat and why would I pass out?"

"You don't know what you would have done. You hit your head pretty good in the accident and gave yourself a concussion so there is a chance you could have passed out"

"But dad I'm fine and when I did that I didn't know you were my dad, at least not for sure. If I had had my memories I wouldn't have done it"

"Well you're mother and I will discuss what we think your punishment should be"

"You're going to punish the me that didn't remember anything?"

"Ella, you snuck out of the house!" David persisted

"I didn't even know who I was!" Ella said getting frustrated with her father

"Fine" David relented. "You have a point, but if you ever do it again than you're grounded"

"Deal!" Ella said relieved that her dad had finally relented "By the way, Emma totally knew about it and wasn't going to tell you"

"Don't worry, your sister and I will be having a discussion about that when I get to the station. Speaking of, I should probably get going" David said getting up from his seat and placing his dishes in the sink.

"Rest up today okay?" He said kissing Ella on the head

"Oh she will" Snow chimed in giving Ella the side look that let her know she wasn't going to be able to sweet talk her way out of it

"Have a good day!" David said as he went out the door and headed to the police station

OUAT

"Emma Ruth you have some explaining to do" David said walking into the station

"What? I just defended the kid is all" Emma said

"You weren't going to tell us that your little sister who has a concussion and lost her memory for a full day had snuck out of the house?" David said a bit more irritated

"Dad relax, what she doesn't know is I followed her to make sure she was fine. And besides, if she can't count on her older sister to not rat her out who can she count on?" Emma said still blowing her father's concern off

"I should punish you for letting her sneak out, at least she had no memory, as far as I was aware you didn't hit your head that hard in the accident"

"Dad!"

"There she is! Now stop blowing off my concern! Your sister could have been really hurt. Now, I'm glad you followed her and made sure she was okay but I wish you had just stopped her before she went out"

"Dad, I understand your concern but she's 17, it's not like I didn't do the same thing at her age"

"Yes but you didn't have parents that loved you at that age, you were running around with Neal and, not that I don't love my grandson but I'm good with one for the time being"

"OUCH!"

"Emma" David said apologetically realizing he had gone to far. "I'm sorry. That was too far. I was so scared to death when I had to watch both of you laying in identical hospital beds and not knowing if either of you was going to come home. The thought of you or your sister getting hurt is more than I can take right now"

Emma walked over to her dad and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry dad. I'll admit, sometimes I forget how much you worry about us. You know that if it is within my power I will always protect Ella. I know I don't always think about my own safety but I promise, I always think about Ella's"

"I know you're trying to be comforting but it doesn't make me feel better when you say you don't always think about yourself. I want you to think about yourself as much as you think about your sister"

"I know dad, it's not something that comes naturally to me to put myself first but I'm working on it"

"Promise me you'll start trying a little harder okay?"

"Deal"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After a few days of rest (and catching up on all the homework she had missed), Ella was ready to go back to life as usual. Charming and Snow on the other hand were not. They knew that it had to happen but after the accident it was still hard for them to not have some fear in letting Ella go back to her normal life.

They knew that going to school and such was what she needed but it still didn't make them fear for her safety any less. The accident had caused them to be even more protective of their daughters, but Ella in particular. They loved their daughters equally but Emma was too old for them to be able to have total say over what she did like they had with Ella (At least for the time being).

They had done everything they could to keep tabs on Emma including saying up every night until she came home and always asking where she was which eventually resulted in Emma shutting off her phone and asking everyone in town to keep her whereabouts a secret from her parents.

Today was the day though that Ella was going to go back to school where Charming and Snow couldn't keep an eye on her like they did when she was at home. Snow and Charming did their best to try and deter Ella from following in her sisters foot steps by threatening to have grumpy follow her around as her body guard which Ella hated to even think about.

Ella knew that if she was going to get back to life as usual she was going to have to play the game until her parents were finally off high alert. Thankfully Ella had an ally in Emma who was more than happy to help take some of the heat off of Ella even if it was just for a little bit.

Ella decided that if she was going to guarantee her return to school she was going to have to make sure her parents had nothing to do with it. Sunday night Ella and Emma devised a plan to do exactly that. Emma would get up at the same time as Ella and then inform their parents right before they were about to walk out the door that Emma would be taking her to school to ensure that their parents didn't change their minds about her going at the last minute.

Today was the day to execute their plan.

Ella woke up at 5:30am, an hour before she normally did but she wanted to make sure that nothing was left to chance. She would have much rather driven herself to school but Doctor Wale had her license suspended until he was sure that her concussion was fully healed.

She started by making a pot of coffee so that she could take a cup to Emma. Ella loved her older sister but she knew better than to not come with a peace offering when waking her up in the morning. Next she jumped in the shower. When she got out of the shower she made the cup of coffee and headed to Emma's room.

"Emma?" Ella said opening the door slowly and approaching the bed with caution

"Are you sure you want to go to school?" Emma responded without moving

"Yes, I have to get away from mom and dad before they smother me to death!" Ella insisted

"I brought you coffee" Ella said in the sweetest voice she could

"That is the only thing that is making me go along with this plan" Emma said sitting up and jetting her hand out to grab the cup

"I love you Emma!" Ella said handing her the cup of coffee

"You better Kid"

"I'm going to go get ready" and with that Ella was off to her room. It was nice to have a few extra minutes to get ready and do her hair. She had seen a few friends but she wanted to look good for her return to school.

A few minutes later Emma came into Ella's room and flopped onto her bed "I'm so tired!"

"I owe you Emma"

Emma lifted her head up from the bed and looked at her little sister "Oh, yes you do"

"You can always come back home and take a nap"

"Yea right. If dad see's me up he's going to insist that I come into the station early and will see no reason to let me go back to bed"

"Have I mentioned how much I love you?"

"I love you too kid. I'm going to get some more coffee so that I can have complete thoughts" and with that she was out of the room.

Ella finished getting ready and headed down stairs where she found her parents getting ready for the day

"Good morning!" Ella said in her bubbly voice

"Well hey there sunshine! You ready to go back to school today?" David said as he poured himself a cup of coffee

"Yes I am! It's been too long!"

"Ella are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Snow chimed in as she entered the kitchen from their room.

"Yes Mom, I need to get back to my life"

"Alright kid you ready to go?" Emma said walking up and wrapping her arm around her little sisters shoulders

"What?" David said eyeing his two daughters

"We decided we needed some sister bonding time" Emma said as she helped to guide Ella toward the door

"Emma I don't know if that's such a good idea" Snow Said

But before the couple could continue to argue the girls were already at the door with their coats on

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" They said in a creepy kind of unison.

As the door latched behind them the couple looked at each other in total shock.

"You know they planned that right?" David said dumbfounded to his wife

"Oh yea they did. That was too smooth for them to not have planned it" Snow replied

"How did we not see this coming?"

"I don't know, but I still don't like the idea of both of them being in a car together...again" Snow said with panic and worry filling her voice

Charming walked over and put his arms around his wife

"Their going to be okay. As much as we want to, we can't always protect them."

"But we can do something" Snow protested in his arms

"We will. Let me make a call okay?" David said pulling snow away and looking into her eyes

"Okay"

David kissed the top of Snow's head and then went to their room to make a phone call

OUAT

"I can't believe we actually pulled that off" Ella said astounded at how smoothly their plan had gone

"I'm kind of shocked to, not gonna lie. But you do know eventually this is going to come back to haunt us right?" Emma replied to her bright eye'd little sister

"I don't care. I'm just happy to be free of their ever watching eyes! I know that they are only doing it because they love me, but I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I couldn't even sneeze without them rushing over to me"

"Cut up some slack kid, they just care is all. When I broke the curse and I was standing in the hospital watching Henry die, I didn't want to ever leave his side from that moment on. However, eventually did learn to let go a bit and remember that it wasn't good for either of us to always be together. Mom and dad will get there"

"I sure hope you're right"

"Well kid this is your stop. Have a good day. I'll pick you up after school unless you hear other wise."

Ella went to jump out of the squad car when her sister's call stopped her in her tracks

"Hey Kid"

"Yea Emma?"

"Leave your phone on, I think we've given them enough of a heart attack for one day okay?"

Ella smiled knowing that her sister was right "I think I can do that" she said with a wink and then she was off to class.


	7. Chapter 7

David started walking towards his room to grab his cell phone. He knew he had to do something to put his wife's mind at rest. He also didn't really care if it was something that his daughters would care for. He would enjoy making them squirm like they had done to he and Snow this morning.

He had to give it to them, their plan was pretty flawless. He and Snow had been completely blind sided by their little routine. They had to keep those two from scheming together after this stunt.

Charming grabbed his phone and immediately phoned Gram.

"Hey Gram, need you to do me a favor. Ella is back at school but after the accident Snow and I are a bit uneasy. I need you to go to the school and check in on her okay?"

"Of course boss. You know the other one is here with me, what do you want me to tell her?"

"Tell her to stay there, I'll be in to deal with her in a little bit"

"Sounds good. I'll go check that out" Gram said before hanging up the phone

OUAT

"Go check out what?" Emma asked as Gram hung up the phone "Where are we going?"

"You're staying here" Gram responded as he grabbed his things

"What do you mean I'm staying here?"

"Your dad's orders not mine"

"That's so not fair"

"I don't make the rules. See you later"

Emma slumped into her chair. Why would her dad send Gram out to do something when he knew she was perfectly capable to do whatever he wanted?

It only took a moment before Emma bolted up in her chair. He was sending him to check on Ella, which means he didn't want Gram here when he got here because he was going to talk to her about his morning. She knew that she couldn't be in the station when he arrived. She had to find a reason to get out of the station.

But before she did that she owed it to Ella to give her a heads up. SHe grabbed her phone and quickly sent the warning text before looking around to try and come up with a valid reason to not be in the office when her father arrived.

OUAT

"It's taken care of" David said hanging up the phone and walking back into the kitchen where Snow was plating their breakfasts.

"What did you do?"

"I called Gram and I'm having him do a drop by at the school to make sure Ella is doing okay"

"I would be lying if I said that didn't make me happy"

"I knew it would"

"But what about Emma?"

"I told Gram to be sure that he went alone. I didn't want Emma tipping off Ella. Gram can hold his own with Emma"

"I hope you're right"

"Well as much as I want to eat with you I need to get out of here before Emma finds a reason to not be at the station when I get here. It won't take her long to put the pieces together"

"Alright, have a good day and give me a call when you hear from Gram"

"I will" He said walking over and kissing her on the lips

"Love you"

"I love you too" and with that David was off to the station

OUAT

Ella looked down at her phone and about had a heart attack. She knew her parents wouldn't be happy with her and Emma's little stunt this morning but to send Gram to school to spy on her was lower than evens he thought they would go. She wasn't going to go down without a fight.

She scanned the hallway for the nearest exit and made a b-line for it. She then high tailed it around the back of the school and walked a wide path around so that if anyone was looking out the window they wouldn't see a student randomly walking around outside the school.

She found a perfect place just on the edge of the property so that should would be able to see when Gram pulled into the parking lot. She had made it to her hiding spot just in time to see the squad car pull up to the front of the building.

She knew that the first thing Gram would do was call her dad, but she also felt like it kind of served him right for sending Gram to spy on her. She texted Emma to let her know what she was doing so that way she could run interference for her.

Gram really couldn't have come at a better time. The school let the seniors have study hall anywhere in the school that they wanted, including outside where they couldn't hear the over head announcements. All she had to do was wait until the end of the hour, blend in with the rest of the students and then make it to her next class before the bell rings. Easy as pie, or so she hoped.

OUAT

Emma was starting to panic. There really was no reason for her to leave the office. Ever since she and Ella had gotten in the car accident the paperwork had piled up a bit and there was nothing major going on in town for once. Maybe it was time to face the music. She was a grown adult, he couldn't punish her...could he?

She still didn't want to find out. She decided that she would stop out to grannies to grab a coffee and a muffin being she didn't get breakfast this morning. That was the only legitimate reason that she could find that David wouldn't question. She quickly grabbed her coat and her key's and headed out the door. She would deal with the wrath of her father later.

OUAT

David got in his car and started driving to the station when he noticed his daughters unmistakable bug parked out in front of grannies. Did she really think that she would be able to avoid him? He drove by and pulled around to the back on grannies and parked his truck where it couldn't be seen and then snuck up the side were Emma's car was parked. He tried the door and, per usual, it was unlocked.

David looked around and climbed into the back seat. He laid down on the floor just as Emma opened the front door of grannies.

Emma pulled open the door and had just set her coffee down in the cup holder when David sat up from the back seat

"You really think you could avoid me that easily?"

"DAD! OH MY GOSH WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY CAR?" Emma yelled

"Hahaha! That reaction was priceless! Well I decided that if you were going to avoid me, I was going to show you that your efforts were futile."

"Dad that was not funny! What if I hadn't had coffee in my hands? I could have shot you!"

"Well it's a good thing you didn't. Now, let's head to the station. I'll come pick up my truck later"

"Where is your truck?"

"Out back, I know you're observant and I couldn't let anything ruin my prank"

"This is not over" Emma said as she turned away and started her car


	8. Chapter 8

Ella watched from the bushes as Gram entered the school. She knew that she only had a small window of time before her dad and possibly Emma showed up.

She was grateful that she had at least gave Emma a heads up and really hoped that Gram would decide to call Emma and not his dad when he couldn't find her at the school. She knew how much Gram always wanted to impress her father and she was really counting on him not wanting to call and tell him he couldn't find his daughter.

It was only a few minutes when she saw him outside where the picnic tables were where a lot of the other seniors were studying. Finally she saw him walk out of the front of the school and pull out her phone. Now was her time to try and sneak back in the school.

OUAT

Gram was not looking forward to making this phone call but he knew that David would be upset if he called Emma instead of him.

He took a deep breath and hit send

OUAT

When they got to the station Emma sat down her coffee and pulled out her phone she just felt buzz in her pocket

The text read "Can't believe dad sent Gram to spy on me. He won't find me. I'm fine, just want to teach dad a lesson"

"Really kid?" Emma said out loud without realizing

"What's wrong Emma?" David said looking at his daughter

"Oh, Henry. He just texted me saying that he forgot his lunch and he doesn't have money. I'm goign to have to go to the school."

"Oh, well Gram's over there, I can have him loan Henry a few bucks"

"What is Gram doing at the high school?" Emma said not wanting to tip her hand

"Well...I mean...I couldn't have your mom worrying all day..."

"Dad..."

"What Emma? We can't help it that we worry about your both"

"You know she is going to hate you for that"

"She'll get over it" Just then David's phone rang "Speak of the Devil. Hey Gram what's going on?"

OUAT

As Ella made her way to the picnic tables she saw Henry walking up to her.

"Where have you been?" Henry said running up to her with a bit of concern in his voice

"What? I just found a quiet place to study. Why? What's up?" She was really hoping she was convincing

"Gram was just looking for you and they called your name over the loud speaker but you never came. I think he's going to call Grandpa...I mean your dad."

"He won't do that. He wants to impress David. Telling him he can't find his daughter at her school is not going to fly"

"Ella you did this on purpose didn't you?" Henry said cocking his head at his Aunt. That was still weird for him being they were only a few years apart

"Why would I do that?" Ella responded try to act offended

"Because you are mad that they are being over protective and you wanted to make them sweat"

"Whatever Henry. I'll go to the office and let them know I'm fine" and with that Ella was off but she knew that her game was up.

OUAT

"David Please don't be upset" Gram said.

"What happened Gram?" David replied not liking how his deputy had started off a conversation involving his youngest

"I can't find her"

"What do you mean you can't find her?"

"I went to the office and had them page her, I went out to the picnic tables and found Henry and he hadn't even seen her"

"I'm on my way" David said hanging up the phone

Gram knew David wasn't happy so he decided to go back in the school and keep looking until David arrived

OUAT

"Emma I need to know right now, do you know where Ella is?" David said in his no nonsense tone

"She's fine. She just hated that you were sending Gram to spy on her and so she wanted to prove that spying on her was not going to work" Emma blurted out surprised by the words that passed her lips

"And you didn't think to share this with me before I got the call?" David said placing his hand on his hip and squaring off toward his daughter

Emma let the silence sit for a moment before her need to defend herself kicked in

"Come on Dad. We all know she and I are cut from the same cloth. I can't get mad at her for doing the same thing I would have done"

"Emma Ruth Nolan I am disappointed in you. Henry didn't need lunch money did he?!" David said putting the pieces together

Emma felt her face go red "No..."

"Emma..." David suddenly stopped when his phone rang, it was Gram again.

"Hey Gram...Oh Thank Goodness...Bring her here to the station and I'll deal with it...just let the office know she is excused for the day...okay...bye"

"Emma that was Gram. Thankfully he found your sister and he is bringing her here." knew he was still mad at his oldest and didn't want to say something he was going to regret so he decided that they should stay busy until the other two arrived "I need you to work on paperwork until Gram gets here with your sister and then we're going to have a talk"

David turned to his desk and grabbed the first paper from the large stack and began working on it.

Emma followed suit but hid her phone and sent Ella a warning text. She felt bad that she hadn't ran more of an interference but she knew that the two of them had crossed a line this time and there was no going back.

OUAT

Gram headed back to the school office hoping against hope that somehow Ella had turned up.

As he rushed toward the office he saw a small blond walking out

"Ella!" He exclaimed

"Hey Gram. A bit excited aren't we?" Ella replied as the guilt overwhelmed her inside

"Ella you had me and your father worried sick! Speaking of, I need to call him." He then pulled out his phone and began to dial David's number.

Ella decided she should get back to class before David picked up the phone but as she began to walk away Gram reached out and grabbed her arm and didn't let go

"David? Hey I found her...Yea...Okay...I'll have her there in a couple minutes...bye" And with that he hung up the phone. "Alright Ella. I'm taking you with me to the station. Let's go in the office and let them know what's going on"

Gram did not let go of Ella's arm as they headed toward the office and Ella knew things were not going to go well for her from here.

OUAT

David hadn't even gotten through one full report until he realized that he needed to inform Snow on exactly what was going on. He knew that Emma would try and interject on their conversation and quite frankly he wanted to be able to share how he felt about BOTH his daughters with his wife so he decided to step outside and make the phone call.

"Emma I'm going to give your mother an update and then I'll be right back" and with that he was off.

"Hey Snow"

"Hey, you okay?" She asked

"Yea. I sent Gram over to the school and Ella found out though Emma and decided that she wanted to prove that she could out smart us by hiding from Gram and then Gram called me and told me he couldn't find her and then Emma admitted to it and long story short she's fine but I'm having Gram bring her to the station so that I can give them both a stern talking to"

"David I'm so sorry! That is horrible! How could they do this to us when they know how worried we've been?"

"That's what I'm going to find out. They are too alike those two"

"Agreed. Well good luck. Let me know if you need me"

"I will. Love you"


	9. Chapter 9

**Had a reviewer ask what my problem is with David. I LOVE DAVID! He is one of my favorite Characters. I just like him being the over protective one and worrying about his daughter (Or daughters in this story) instead of it always being Snow. I love Snow but her worry always turns Emma off but David it is just a different kind of care and I like it. And in this story you have to think he just watched both of his daughters laying in a hospital bed so he is going to be a bit more excited about them trying to pull a prank.**

 **As far as baby Neal goes, I probably won't add him or if I do it will be much later on. If you like baby Neal you can read my other story _"Emma Broke the Curse at 15"_**

As Ella got into the squad car she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She looked down to see a message from Emma warning her that they were both in Hot Water for this little stunt. Ella felt bad that she had dragged Emma into her plan and put her in a place where she had to lie to their parents.

The ride to the station was a very quiet one. She and Gram normally joked and had a good time together but today was not that day. He was really upset with her for making him look bad to David.

Ella was realizing that her actions effected everyone, not just her and the guilt was enough to make her want to throw up.

As they pulled up to the station they saw David hanging up the phone, probably a call to Snow. He slowly walked over to the passenger side of the cruiser and opened the door. Ella did her best to not make eye contact with her dad. He got a hold of her arm and helped her to get out of the car and led her into the station

"Hey Kid" Emma said seeing Ella being led into the station by their dad

"Sit. Now." David said releasing his daughter and pointing to the chair closest to Emma.

"You two have a lot of explaining to do" David said grabbing his chair and moving it toward the two girls

"In Emma's defense she had no part in my plan. I just filled her in after the fact" Ella blurted out trying to do all she could to take a bit of the heat off Emma.

"That may be true of your little game of hide and go seek but that was definitely not true this morning. You two had that planned out to a T" David retorted pointing from one girl to the other.

"Come on dad, you have to admit that was pretty good!" Emma said giving her dad that smirk that he couldn't help but smile at

"Emma stop it!" David said doing is best to keep his stern face

"We were pretty smooth weren't we?" Ella chimed in smiling at her sister

"You two together are going to turn me gray before my time" David said covering his face with his hands to try and cover his smile

"Dad, you know this morning was not that big of a deal" Emma added

"Emma, After watching both of you lay unconscious in a hospital it is a big deal for you two to drive off without letting us know in advance" David said

"Dad I'm sorry" Ella chimed in. "I know I made you and mom panic and that was wrong and I should have done exactly as I was told and it will never happen again"

"Wow Ella that didn't take long" Emma said looking over at her little sister a bit shocked at how quickly Ella had been broken down by David. Then again she had done the same thing

"Ella I appreciate your apology but that doesn't mean you're off the hook for all this." David said turning to his youngest "Now. From now on you are not allowed to go anywhere unless your mother or I are informed first. You can think we're being over protective but the trip to the hospital gives us the right to be a bit paranoid"

"And you," He said Pointing to Emma "are confined to paperwork duty until further notice"

"WHAT?!" Emma replied flying out of her chair. She knew that Ella was going to get punished but she figured being an adult would pretty much keep her from any back lash besides the typical " _how dare you corrupt your sister_ "crap.

"You didn't think you were going to just walk away from this did you? I almost lost you too, I need to feel safe sending you out on an assignment and right now, I don't." David said a bit more satisfied then he thought he would be with her reaction.

"Dad come on! This is so not fair!" Emma retorted

"Dad I don't think it's fair to punish Emma. This was all my idea. She never would have done it if I hadn't pressed her to do it" Ella chimed in knowing that Emma being punished for her actions would not end well for her

"Ella I know it was your idea, but I was hoping that your older sister would be smart enough to know not to let you go through with it. Also, you two conspiring together and sending warning texts makes you both just as guilty. However, I do agree that you are more guilty then your older partner in crime which is why you are grounded to your mother and me until further notice. You will go to school, come hang out at the station after school, and then straight home after that. No friends, no activities, nothing unless your mother and I are present. Are we clear?"

"Yes...I understand" Ella said looking at the floor

"Now, I want both of you to go home, immediately" and with that he stood up and pointed toward the door

"You heard him, let's go kid" Emma said standing up and heading toward her desk to grab her things

"Right behind you" Ella said following suit

OUAT

Once the girls were out of the office David sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He just couldn't comprehend where either of his daughters got the idea that it was a good idea to do what they had done. Just then he heard the door to the station open.

"Hey boss. am I clear to come in?" Gram said peering around the corner

"Yea, Gram. You're good" David said going back to his thoughts

"Anything I can do?"

"No you're good" David said looking up with an apologetic look at his deputy

"Your daughters sure are...mischievous"

"Tell me about it. I'm afraid that they're going to give me a heart attack!"

"Haha! Well it could be worse, they could hate each other and instead of breaking up their little schemes you could be breaking up full on brawls"

"That is true...I guess when you look at it that way I'm glad they get along but I just wish they didn't encourage each other to do things that make me worry"

"It's what kids are supposed to do, send their parents to an early grave to guarantee that the parent die first right?" Gram said in his most sarcastic tone

"Very funny" Charming said rolling his eyes at Gram. "Gram, when are you going to find a nice girl and have some kids?"

"Oh, I'm in no hurry. I"m living through you my friend"

David just laughed and shook his head. He loved his girls more than he could express, he just wished he was always there to keep them safe from everything and it was paining him to know that it just wasn't possible.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Authors note. Hope you are liking this story. I would love to hear where you would like to see it go**

Ella felt the weight of the world on her shoulders as she and Emma walked out to Emma's bug. She hated seeing the disappointment in her father's eyes. She knew that what she did was wrong and that she shouldn't have tried to sneak away from Gram. Her parents really had been though a lot with her and Emma and they just wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Emma what was I thinking?!" Ella finally let out once the two girls were on the road

"Calm down kid. I've done much worse, they will get over it"

"Emma did you see the disappointment in dad's eyes? I could have just rolled my eyes and just taken their over protectiveness for one day"

"Yea you could of but you didn't. I never have taken it well either. They just love you, but it's our job to make them sweat from time to time"

"Emma I think we've done our fare share of making them sweat. From the car accident to this morning and then the stunt I pulled at school. I'm dead"

Emma couldn't help but finally let out the laugh that had been building up inside of her since Ella started talking.

"What is so funny?" Ella protested

"You are kid" Emma finally got out between laughs

"What?" Ella asked confused a bit frustrated by her older sister

Ella pulled into a parking spot and put the car into park before she turned to Ella. "Okay kid, you're not dead. Trust me I've done much worse than what happened today, remember? I went into the past, messed up mom and dad's relationship, and made out with hook from the past. Until you can top that I think you're life is safe"

"At least you did it all before mom and dad noticed so all you had to do was ask for forgiveness." Emma said crossing her arms

"Yea but if you bring up that little incident to dear old mom and dad they still get a bit red faced, this is one of those things that they will laugh about later" Emma retorted

Ella just laid her head back and sighed very loudly which only caused Emma to giggle all the more

"Besides if anyone is going to me mad at you it's me" Emma said sarcastically hitting Ella's knee

"Yea...about that...I'm sorry" Ella said not wanting to make eye contact with her sister

"I'm totally kidding Ella. It will only be for like a day before I pull the puppy dog eyes and I'm back out in a cruiser" Emma reassured her little sister.

"Emma!"

"What?! I technically did nothing wrong so I"m not going to take this punishment laying down"

"True enough. Alright let's get inside and try to take our minds, or at least my mind, off this whole thing before mom get's home"

"Sounds good to me! I think I saw some ice cream in the freezer so that should help" Emma said smiling at her little sister before they both got out of the car and headed up to the loft.

OUAT

Charming got up and walked to the front door of the station to make sure that the girls got to the car safely. He was a bit nervous about sending the two of them off in a car but thankfully the loft was only a short drive and there was very little traffic. After he watched them pull out of the parking lot he pulled out his phone to give Snow an update

"Hey Snow"

 _"Hey Charming. Is Everything okay? You sound exhausted"_

"That's an understatement. Ella decided to pull a fast one on Gram and disappear while she was at school when I sent him to check on her"

 _"WHAT! Is she okay? Did you find her?"_

"Oh yea! Gram found her and I had him bring her to the station where I gave her and Emma a stern lecture and told Ella she can't go anywhere without our permission and grounded Emma to desk duty and then I sent them home"

 _"Are you sure you should have sent them off together?"_ Snow said a still bit apprehensive at both of her children being in a car together after the accident.

"I felt the same way but the loft is so close. I'm going to call them when I get off the phone to make sure they got home safe though"

 _"Okay good. I agree with your punishment but I think that we should be a bit more harsh with Ella. Disappearing during school hours is not okay"_

"I agree, but I didn't want to punish her fully until you and I had a chance to talk"

 _"Well I appreciate that. Do you need me to get a sub for the rest of the day?"_

"I mean it's up to you. I would hope that leaving an adult and an almost adult home alone wouldn't require supervision but..."

 _"Yea I know what you mean. I guess we'll make this their test."_

"Sounds good. Well I have a few more things to finish up here before I can leave but I love you Snow"

 _"I love you too"_

Charming hung up and grabbed the last few files that had to be finished before he left for the day. Having Emma confined to desk duty was really going to be a huge help with getting caught up on the paperwork that had accumulated while the girls were recovering from the accident. The trick was going to be getting her to actually stay at her desk.

OUAT

Emma went immediately to the freezer to get the ice cream while Ella went to her room to put away her things.

"Do you want double chocolate peanut butter or vanilla?" Emma yelled up the stairs

"What do you think?" Ella yelled back. Both of the sisters loved the overly chocolaty flavors where their parents preferred vanilla so they could control the amount of sweetness which made no sense to them.

"Sounds good" Emma yelled back having already put the one container out on the counter knowing what her sisters answer would be. Just as Emma got the bowls out and put them on the counter she looked at her phone and realized she had to go pick up Henry. She really didn't want to bail on Ella so she decided to text her mom and ask her if she could bring Henry home with her which was meant by her mothers "Of course" response that she knew would follow.

Knowing Henry was taken care of she went back to scooping the ice cream just as Ella came down the stairs.

"What's taking so long?" Ella said noticing Emma scooping the first bit of ice cream into a bowl

"I totally forgot I had to pick up Henry but I'm just having mom bring him here"

"Maybe spending time with Henry will help her to calm down a bit and go a bit nicer on us"

Emma just threw a look at Ella that said "Excuse me?"

"I mean me" Ella corrected herself

"That's better" Emma said going back to scooping ice cream. She handed Ella the first bowl and then scooped her own before putting everything away. She knew her mom would not be happy if the ice cream or the scoop was sitting out when she got home.

After they had consumed their ice cream Emma decided that she wanted to do something to help cheer Ella up before her punishment came into full effect. She was coming up with a plan as she rinsed out their bowls and put them into the dish washer.

"Alright kid, I have an idea" Emma said turning around and facing her little sister who had her head held up by her elbows that were resting on the island counter top.

Ella looked up front the counter to see the evil glint in Emma's eyes. She knew that whatever Emma was about to say was not going to end well for either of them. "Emma...I don't like that look"

"Oh come on! One last time of living on the edge before mom and dad get home can't hurt you!"

"Emma they are going to be home in less than two hours!" Ella said really hoping to hold her ground and not get sucked into Emma's plan

"Come on El. You are going to be basically grounded to mom and dad for the next who knows how long and this is going to be your last taste of freedom!" Emma said with a huge smile.

"I'm not saying that I'm going to agree to this but...what did you have in mind?"

"I knew you had an evil side somewhere deep down! Okay, so I was thinking we can go out and see a movie"

"Emma that's not that rebellious...I'M SO PROUD!"

"Well thanks lil sis! Grab your coat let's go!" Emma said before she started heading toward the door to grab her own coat with a mischievous grin on her face that Ella didn't understand but decided to ignore.

OUAT

David had gotten so wrapped up in his work that he had totally forgotten to call the girls to make sure that they had gotten home safe. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Emma's number.

OUAT

"Crap" Emma said looking down at her phone to see her dad's name come up on the caller ID. "Ella can you turn down the radio, time to sell the fact that we're home. "Hey Dad!"

 _"Hey Em, just calling to make sure you girls got home safe"_

"Yep, I'm just watching TV and Ella's upstairs doing her homework"

 _"Good. I'll be home in about two hours so can you stay at the house till we get home?"_

"Of course, I never need an excuse to hand out with my little sis"

 _"Thanks Em, love you"_

"Love you too" and with that Emma hung up the phone.

"How did you become such a good liar?" Ella asked a bit impressed that her dad never caught on to her older sister blatant lie.

"I'll teach you my ways, but for now, let's blow this popsicle stand" And with that Emma started driving toward the town line

"Emma..."

"Yea El..."

"Why are you not driving toward the theater?"

"What do you mean?" Emma said holding in her smile as best she could

"Emma"

"Come on Ella, you didn't think that my plan was just to take you out to a movie did you?"

"Emma you're going to get me killed by mom and dad!"

"You're exaggerating...okay maybe you're not but i promise you this is a much better way to go out"

"Emma!"

"Ella!"

"Emma you have to take me back! I can't do this to them again! If they find out that we crossed the town line they are going to kill both of us. Remember the accident? Remember how much that killed them to see us hurt?"

Emma stopped the car and pulled it over to the side of the road at her sisters words. "Emma what is this really about?" Ella asked

"Honestly El...I feel horrible about that accident. Not only did I almost get you killed but like you said, I made mom and dad worry about the both of us. I figured if I took you to a movie and we returned safely that maybe I could show mom and dad that they can trust me to take care of you...to take care of myself...I just want to try and replace that awful day. You know what I mean?"

"I do Emma, but us going to a movie outside of Storybrook is not going to change their memory of that day, it's only going to make them mad at us for going against their wishes and they won't see this as you being responsible they are going to see it as you being reckless."

Emma just stared straight ahead as Ella's words began to sink in. She didn't want to hurt her parents anymore but she also knew that Ella had wisdom beyond her years. Without saying a word she turned her car around and started heading back to Storybrook.

"Thank you Emma" Ella said putting a hand on her sister shoulder

"You're welcome kid. You know, you're pretty smart. But Also I'm not going to just take you home" Emma said as her little evil grin reappeared

"I wouldn't expect any less!" Ella said

The two girls headed toward the movie theater in Storybrook making sure to park in back so that way if either of their parents drove by they wouldn't see Emma's yellow bug. She loved her car but it was not good for being covert. Emma was determined to give Ella a pick me up...even if it wasn't necessarily her favorite thing to have to say in town.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **With the girls at the movie theate how are Charming and Snow going to react when they return home? Will Ella defend she and Emma's choice to go against their wishes or will she throw Emma under the bus? What about Emma trying to take her out of Storybrook? Time to find out :)**

Charming had gotten so caught up in his paperwork that he was actually startled by his phone ringing. He looked down to see his wife calling and immediately looked up at the clock to see it was five o'clock which meant she wan't calling him because he was getting home late so either something happened at the school or the girls decided to go against his orders once again.

"Hey Snow. Is everything okay?"

 _"Yea everything is fine, I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving school, I ended up having a staff meeting that ran long and I wanted to let you know"_

"Oh good. I was worried that something was wrong with the girls"

 _"Speaking of, did you call them?"_

"Yea I called Emma and she said that she took Ella home and that she was upstairs doing her homework and that she would stay and hang out with her until we got home"

 _"Good. I"m glad to hear they are actually cooperating with us for once"_

"You and me both" Charming chuckled a bit "Snow why don't you swing by the station and pick me up and I'll come home with you. I've done enough here for the day and then we can sit the girls down and talk to them together"

 _"Sounds great! I would love to see you, and so would Henry, he's with me"_ Snow said with a smile that Charming could hear through the phone

"Perfect I'll see you both in a few minutes then. I love you"

 _"I love you too"_

 _OUAT_

Emma and Ella came out of the movie feeling refreshed and ready to take on whatever lecture they knew was coming. Ella still didn't like going against her parents wishes but she also loved these moments where she got to spend time with Emma.

"Alright kid, we have 10 minutes to get home before dad leaves for work, we may have actually pulled this off!" Emma said high fiving her little sister.

"I will say we are a pretty impressive team!" Ella said happy that they should be able to pull off their little escape scot free

"Alright. Let's run to the car and get you home and up to your room 'working on homework'" Emma said using her fingers to make air quotes "And I'll be on the couch watching TV and they will be none the wiser"

"Sounds like a plan! Race you to the car!" Ella said taking off and leaving Emma in the dust

"Cheater!" Emma yelled after her sister

Ella got to the car first and tried to open it but then she heard the car honk "HEY!" Ella turned around and yelled at Emma who had stopped running and was slowly walking up to the car holding her keys in her hand

"Hey, cheaters never prosper" Emma replied with a sly grin

"Me? A cheater? I'm offended" Ella said sarcastically

"Yea, yea kid! Now get in before we get in trouble" Emma said unlocking her yellow bug.

Both girls hopped in and Emma sped off towards the loft hoping against everything that she was right and that they would beat her parents home.

 _OUAT_

Charming was putting away the last of his paperwork away when he heard the two sets of footsteps of his wife and grandson

"Hey Gramps!" Henry said coming around the corner

"Hey Henry! How was school?"

"It was fine, nothing exciting" He said moving to the side to let her Grandma give him a hug

"Hey Snow!" David said coming up to his wife and giving her a small kiss

"Man, now I can understand why my mom hates when you guys do that" Henry said with a bit of a disgusted look on his face

Charming and Snow just laughed to themselves. Henry had gotten a bit more uncomfortable with their personal displays of affection which only made charming want to do it all the more. He loved how much Henry looked like Emma when he gave them his disgusted face.

"Alright kid, let's get home and see you mom and your aunt" Charming said messing up Henry's hair a bit

"Let's hope they actually stayed where you told them to" Snow added with a bit of hesitation in her voice. She really didn't want to be proven wrong

"I'm sure they are. Ella did seem genuinely apologetic for what she did and, as much as she takes after Emma, she won't push the envelop as far as her older counter part" Charming said trying to reassure his wife

"Yes but Emma will and if Emma puts enough pressure on her, Ella just might crack" Snow said still not able to shake that uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach

"Snow, let's go home and find out before we jump to assumptions"

With that the little threesome where out the door and on their way to the loft

OUAT

Emma and Ella pulled into the parking lot to the apartment building and started scanning for either of their parents cars. With neither in site the quickly parked the car and booked it up the stairs to the loft.

Ella immediately went to her bedroom and placed her homework about so that it looked like she was deep in study and Emma threw herself down on the couch and turned on the TV.

They both started laughing at the fact that they had essentially pulled off the best scheme of their lives and were actually going to get away with it.

Emma pulled out her phone and texted Ella just as she heard the lock flip to the loft.

"HEY MOM!" Henry said running in and plopping down next to his mom

"Hey kid! How was school?" Emma said giving him a hug

"It was fine, nothing exciting to report" Henry said winking at his mom knowing that she must have known about Ella's little game of hide and go seek with Gram.

Emma just smiled and messed up Henry's hair knowing exactly what that little wink was.

"Emma where is your sister?" Snow said looking around but seeing no sign of Ella

"Oh, she's up in her room working on her homework" Emma said flatly trying to swallow her smile

"Hey Ella! Can you come down here please?" Charming yelled up the stairs before looking at Henry "Hey kid, why don't you go hang out in your room and do your homework"

"Come on Gramps, can't I see my Aunt and my mom get a lecture?" Henry said flashing her grandpa a smile

"Alright but at least go sit in the kitchen" Charming said giving Henry his best dad look

"Perfect!" Henry said hopping up off the couch and heading toward the kitchen island

"I see how it is kid, you want to see me get in trouble instead of you uh?" Emma said rolling her eyes at her son's enthusiasm for seeing her get lectured

"And what's wrong with that?" Henry said looking over his shoulder at his mom

Ella came bounding down the stairs at that moment "What's wrong with what?"

"Oh your nephew just wants a front row seat to see us get lectured" Emma said patting her hand on the cushion next to her.

"Henry!" Ella said in her fake offended tone

"Alright you two, time for us to talk" Charming said coming in and sitting on the coffee table so he could face the girls. The both looked at each other and then moved their hands over so that they were squeezing one another's. They were in this together for better or for worse

"Ella, Emma. I want to know why you two thought it was okay for you to take off this morning without talking to us first" David said looking from one daughter to the other

"Dad...If I'm being honest...You and mom and smothering me" Ella said looking at her lap to avoid eye contact "I love you both and I know that the accident made you guys worry about me but...I mean I'm fine now...no more memory problems...no health issues...I just want to go back to being a normal teenager and I figured that ripping the band-aid off was the easiest way to help you and mom realize that"

While Ella was talking Snow came over and sat next to Charming. They both looked at each other as Ella spoke and did feel a bit guilty because they knew exactly what Ella was talking about. They had been hovering over her since the accident but they really just wanted to make sure she was safe

"And Emma really doesn't need to be here. All of this was my idea, I just asked her to be apart of it" Ella said when the silence got to be too much for her. She figured that if she could at least get Emma off the hook then she would be doing something good.

"Ella, we're sorry that we made you feel that way" Snow started leaning over and putting her hand on Ella's knee

"When you two were in that car accident...I've never been so scared in my life...The thought of anything happening to either of you...I just can go through that again so if that means I have to be a hovering parent then that's what I'll do...I just want to keep you safe" Charming said looking from one girl to the other with pleading eyes. "Do you understand now why your little stunt this morning really didn't set well with your mother or I?"

"We definitely get it dad. But I think that we can all agree that this morning can be written off as a learning curve for us all. Wouldn't you agree?" Emma said with a small smile

"Emma..." Snow said looking at her oldest "I think we at least deserve an apology"

"I totally agree mom. We are very sorry for making you worry and we really should have thought about how our actions would effect you and dad" Ella jumped in to save Emma knowing that Emma was not going to like that idea

"Ditto" Emma threw in

David and Snow just looked at each other slightly amused by their daughters antics

"I just need to interject here" came Henry's voice from the kitchen "Aunt Ella that was fantastic!"

"Well thanks Henry!" Ella said with a smile as she was also pretty proud of her little cover up there

"Henry stop encouraging them" Charming said sarcastically feeling that between the three of them he and Snow were going to end up losing this battle

"I can't help it if I recognize greatness when I see it" Henry said with a comeback

Charming just rolled his eyes "Okay we need to get back on track here" Charming said trying to take hold of the situation

"Agreed. Now we forgive you for your little stunt this morning. We'll try to back off a bit after your punishment" Snow said trying to help Charming out

"But we still need to talk to you Ella about your little stunt this afternoon at school" Charming said eyeing his youngest

"And this is where I will bow out. Good luck kid" Emma said standing up

"Not so fast young lady, you are not off the hook in all of this" Charming said pointing at his daughter and motioning for her to sit "Now, Ella. It was not okay that you ran away from school in order to try and prove a point to me"

"Dad, I didn't run away from school. I had study hall and they let us go anywhere we want including outside." Ella said

"The school lets you wondering anywhere you want? What if there was an emergency? How would they find you?" Snow said determined to have a talk with the principal and get that policy changed as soon as possible

"Mom it's only for seniors and we have to be on school grounds. If there was any emergency there are alarms that blare outside and we have our designated areas that we have to go do" Ella said a bit surprised at her mom's reaction being a teacher herself

"What if someone walked on to school grounds and walked off with you? The school would never know where to look for you or who to look for" Snow said still not getting off the subject of the vulnerable state that the policy put students in

"Mom now you're just exaggerating" Ella said a bit annoyed with her mothers dooms day scenarios

"Ella she's not over exaggerating she's being serious. I don't want you to be wandering around the school grounds without supervision" David added a bit put out with Ella's attitude. "And you know you were taking advantage of that policy in order to avoid Gram which you knew would end up with a phone call to me to tell me you were missing which would make me worry. That is what is really at steak here"

"Ella how could you do that to your father?" Snow said looking horrified after getting more of the details of the situation

"It's like I said before, I was feeling smothered, I just needed to get away from everyone staring at me" Ella finally blurted out

"Ella you need to talk to us then, not run away from us" Snow said leaning forward and touching her daughters knee

"I know. I promise I won't do it again. I feel really bad" Ella said as a small tear rolled down her cheek

"We believe you" Charming said putting his hand under her chin to force her to make eye contact

"Thank you" Emma said in a very small voice.

"Now you young lady. This whole little situation could have been avoided had you not tipped Ella off to what was going on" Charming said in a stern voice looking at Emma.

"Come on, if her big sister doesn't have her back then who can? I know how over protective you guys can be and I wish I had had an older sibling to give me a heads up when you two were up to something" Emma said as seriously as she could

"Emma, I understand you wanting to give her a heads up but you should not have encouraged her to hide from Gram and give me a heart attack in the process. You should have told me so that I could give Gram the heads up. He feels horrible that he had to call me and tell me that he couldn't find my daughter" Charming said still not pleased with his daughters actions

"Okay I'll admit to that but you have to realize I'm on team Ella for better or for worse" Emma said putting her arm around her little sister

"You two are going to be the death of us" Snow said shaking her head at her daughters antics

"Emma, you were wrong to not tell me what was going on and Ella you were wrong for running from Gram in the first place. Now. Your punishments still stand. Ella you are not allowed to go anywhere unless you are with me or your mother..."

"And you are only allowed to have your cell phone to contact us. We will collect it during the time's we are with you" Snow added

"And Emma you are on desk duty for a week" David said giving his daughter his dad look letting her know that no matter what clever excuse she came up with it wasn't going to change his mind

"Fine" Emma said rolling her eyes

"That's fair" Ella said

Charming and Snow couldn't help but let out their laughter at the very different reactions they just got from each of their daughters. But as different as they are they love them both equally


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it's been so long since I've written, I have been really busy with life and graduating college and such that I haven't had time to write but now that summer is here and school is over I will have more time and can update more frequently. I hope you guys are liking this story and I have loved your comments! They really make me want to keep writing this story and give me an idea of where it should go. If you have any ideas or want to see a particular scene just leave a comment and I can see what I can do.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter**

* * *

Ella and Emma woke up the next morning both dreading what the day held for them. Emma was not looking forward to being tethered to her desk all day with paperwork and Ella knew she was going to end up spending the evening with her mother having "real life" conversations. She was not as opposed to having those vulnerable conversations with her mother like Emma was but she also wasn't a fan of them being an every day thing with the fact that she wasn't going to be able to escape to be with her friends for the foreseeable future. She wouldn't even be able to escape into her phone which would have been her saving grace.

Emma walked into Ella's room to find her staring blankly at the ceiling. "Come on kid, we can't avoid them forever"

"Can we try?" Ella said rolling over to face her older counter part

"If only. Come on, I'll try and spring you for a little bit today so you can get a break" Emma said waving her arm for Ella to follow her down stairs.

"Fine. I'll be down in a few" Ella said dramatically throwing her body forward and launching herself out of the bed

"Better hurry up before they come up here looking for you" Emma said with a sly smile

"Shut up" Ella said throwing the first thing she could get her hands on at the door as it closed behind Emma.

It wasn't long before both girls were down stairs sitting at the island eating breakfast with the rest of their family. "Alright kids you ready to go?" Mary Margret said to Ella and Henry putting her bag onto her shoulder.

"Yep!" Henry replied. Ella slightly resented how happy he was this morning but did her best to plaster on a smile and trudge through the day the best she could.

"Yea...let's go" Ella said not fooling anyone with her tone.

"Ella I'll be picking you up after school and bringing you back to the station to do your homework" David called after his youngest as she walked toward the door.

"Wait...I thought I was going to go to mom's classroom?" Ella said turning around with a confused look on her face

"Change of plans honey, I have a field trip today that I completely forgot about and we are getting back a bit later so you're dad will pick you up" Snow chimed in

"Okay, that works. I guess I'll see you later then Emma" Ella said looking over and smiling at her sister in a way that let her know she was more than pleased at the turn of events. David may be strict but he would probably forget about the cell phone rule being that Snow had added that to her punishment last minute so she may get to keep her connection to the outside world after all.

"See you later kid!" Emma smiled back knowing exactly what her little sister was thinking.

Snow walked over to Charming as Ella and Henry were getting their shoes on and kissed him on the lips before pulling away and looking at him with the loving look that made his heart swell. "I love you charming. Please make sure that BOTH our girls are safe okay?"

"Don't worry. I won't let them out of my sight" David said kissing her back and giving a content smile

"I know you won't. By the way don't forget to collect Ella's cell phone when you pick her up" She said loud enough for Ella to hear so that way she knew what was expected of her

Ella just dropped her head hoping neither of her parents noticed her reaction because she knew that her father would have a better chance at remembering that little detail if she reacted to it.

"I know. I love you. Have a good day at work" David said planting a final kiss on Snow's forehead before placing his hand on the small of her back and ushering her toward the front door.

OUAT

Once the door closed behind Snow and the kids David turned around to look at his oldest. "Now you, are you ready to go to work?"

"Am I ready to be tied to my desk to fill out and file mounds of paperwork? Not really"

"Well you did that to yourself young lady. As soon as I can trust you to do as I say and not put yourself or your sister in danger then I'll let you go back out on patrol" David gave Emma a pointed look letting her know he was not going to argue this point with her

"Yea, yea. One mistake and the world ends" She said rolling her eyes and walking toward the sink to rinse off her plate

"Emma" David said in a commanding voice that let her know he was not going to put up with her attitude all day and it was going to stop here

"Sorry" Emma said sheepishly

"I forgive you. As your father it's my job to keep you safe so if that means keeping you in the station all day then so be it"

"I understand dad. I just feel like you may be over reacting a bit"

"Well that's my prerogative as your father"

"I seem to recall at one point _I_ was the sheriff and _you_ were the deputy"

"And then you disappeared and I took back my rightful spot as ruler" David gave her a charming smile that made Emma want to scream and laugh all at the same time

"You know mom gave you that nickname as an oxymoron right?"

"Emma! Don't call your father a moron!" David chided playfully

"You know what I mean"

"And I live up to it to the best of my ability" David smiled

Emma rolled her eyes as she pulled on her red leather jacket "Come on, don't want to miss out on the stack of paperwork on my desk" She said as she threw her father his keys and headed out the door.

OUAT

The ride to school was quiet all for the radio playing. Henry was on his phone and Ella was simply staring out the window trying not to be jealous of her uncle as she did not have the luxury of the distraction of her phone.

Finally they pulled up to the school and the two were about to hop out when Snow called back to them "Have a good day you two, don't forget that David is picking you both up and taking you to the station. And Ella here is your phone, please keep it on you until your dad picks you up okay?"

"Thank mom, love you" Ella said with a slight smile before heading into the school

"Bye Grams, love you" Henry said before catching up with his nice. "Wow, didn't take you long to start texting up a storm" Henry commented at the sight of Ella's concentration on her phone as her fingers quickly and easily moved across the screen.

"Well Violet probably thinks I died or something with me not being able to respond to any of her texts" Ella replied annoyed

"You two are pretty close uh?" Henry commented looking down at the side walk

Ella looked over at her nephew a bit taken a back by his sudden change in demeanor "Yea...why?"

"Nothing" He said

"Come on Henry! You may be my nephew but we are still the same age...you totally like her don't you?!" Ella said putting her hands on his shoulders

"Ella..."

"You do don't you?" She said cutting him off in her excitement

"You can't tell anyone"

"Henry she's my best friend...I could totally hook you up!" Ella exclaimed

"Ella do you really think that is a good idea?"

"Getting to choose my own niece and having it be my best friend no less? I think this is a brilliant idea! Just give me a few days and I will have it all arranged! I'm so excited!" and with that Ella was off into the school to find her friend

"This is not going to end well for me" Henry said to himself before he followed suit and was off to his class

OUAT

"Hello Mary Margret, I hope you are doing well this morning" Snow was greeted by Ella who had recently taken the secretary position in the elementary office

"Hello Ella! I'm doing well, and you?"

"I'm good! By the way I saw your girls yesterday and I think it is just so wonderful that they are so close despite the age gap"

"Where did you see them yesterday?" Snow said confused by it all being that Charming had sent them both straight home from the station and they had driven from one place to the other

"They were at the movie theater. I didn't get to talk to them as I only saw them from afar but I hope that my children are as close as your girls are and can do things like that"

"Well thank you so much. I am lucky. I will see you later" Snow said nodding to her friend and quickly going to her room as she was ready feeling the heat radiating off of her face from the anger that was quickly building.

She immediately pulled out her phone and was about to call charming when she remembered he would be with Emma so she decided to text him.

"I just found out that Ella saw the girls at the movie theater after you had sent them home from the station. Do you want to take this one or should I?"

it was only a few moments before she felt her phone buzz in her pocket with his reply

"I'll talk to them when Ella gets off school. Looks like we need to crack down on them a bit harder"

"Agreed. We can discuss the details over lunch, are you still planning on coming here?" Snow replied

"Yea I was but now I don't think we can trust Emma to be at the station alone"

"Agreed. How about you call me?" Snow replied disappointed that she wasn't going to get to have lunch with her husband but understanding that the safety of their girls had to come first.

"That sounds great. I'll talk to you then ;)"

Snow smiled at the sweet little emoji that he added to the last text and it helped to calm her a bit after getting the news about her girls from Ella. Snow decided to do one last thing to make sure that Ella also staid where she was supposed to. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number of a close friend from the enchanted forest that she knew would protect Ella at any cost.

"Lancelot?"

"Hi Snow...is that you? I'm still not totally sure how to use these phone things yet"

"That's okay. And yes it is me. I need a favor"

"Anything"

"I was wondering if you would be willing to guard my youngest daughter Ella. She has been sneaking off and putting herself in danger lately and..."

"Say no more Snow. I would be honored to watch over your daughter. Where is she now?"

"She is at the high school. If you could just be there I would feel a lot better about everything. David is picking her up after school so..."

"Snow. I will watch her as much as you need me to, it is no burden. I will try to be as inconspicuous as I can but still make sure she is protected"

"I knew I could count on you. I truly appreciate it"

"Any time Snow. I'll head over there right away. I'll talk to you soon"

"Talk to you soon and thank you again" And with that she hung up. She knew Ella would not be happy but after getting news that they had once again gone against their orders she couldn't take any chances.

She texted David to let him know and he agreed that it was the best thing to do. She took a breath knowing that both of her girls were safe and being watched over which made her being able to relax and do her job with a bit more ease.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Ella and Emma really are in for it when they get home. Charming and Snow are not going to be happy that they lied to them as we saw before but how are they going to handle this big parenting moment?**

 **By the way, last chapter I realized that there was a typo and I accidentally called Henry Ella's uncle when he is actually her nephew. I tried to go in and edit all of the times I said that but I realized I missed one or two so please ignore that.**

* * *

Ella was sitting in her English class when Lancelot walked in and sat in the back of the room after handing her teacher a note. She was so confused why he was there until it dawned on her. Her parents had sent him to watch her. They had to have found out what she and Emma did. She felt the color drain from her face as Lancelot took a seat in the back of the classroom.

Ella quickly pulled out her phone and sent Emma text to let her know that they were done for and that their parents had sent lancelot to watch her.

OUAT

Emma noticed her dad looking at her with a look that let her know something was up with him, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Shortly after that she felt her phone buzz and she knew exactly what was wrong.

She knew that they were dead as soon as she ready the text. She looked up at her dad in just enough time to catch him looking at her with a skeptical look. Emma knew that she had to get out of the station and get to Ella and apologize for getting her in trouble...again.

She racked her brain and then it dawned on her, she could go have lunch with her. David had mentioned that he and Snow were going to get together to have lunch so it should be no problem for her to sneak away.

OUAT

Ella got the text from Emma between classes from Emma saying that she would come to the school for lunch so they could talk which made Ella feel a little better. Thankfully the seniors had open campus lunch so all she had to do was shake lancelot which was going to be a lot easier said then done.

As her class let out she did her best to sprint out of the classroom and blend in with the crowd but it took no time for her to see Lancelot standing about 10 yards away keeping a close eye on her. She was at least grateful that he wasn't hovering to the point of it being noticeable.

She quickly got her books and headed off to her next class but still noticed her shadow was never far behind. Lunch was going to take magic...literally

OUAT

Emma saw the clock strike twelve and waited for fifteen minutes for her dad to get up and leave but the time never came. Finally she decided to speak up.

"Dad?"

"yea Em" He said focus on his paperwork and not making eye contact

"Aren't you going to lunch with mom?"

David looked up at Emma and then looked at the clock before responding. "Oh, I was but she texted me earlier and she said that something came up at the school so it's just you and me kid"

"Well actually..." Emma said a bit hesitant, she wasn't going to tell him but she knew that honesty was the only way she was actually going to get out of the station. Well partial honesty that is.

"What?" David said turning and facing his daughter and looking her dead in the eye. He figured this had to be another scheme

"I had lunch plans already so I guess you're on your own. Sorry" She said getting up and grabbing her things, essentially avoiding eye contact with her father

"With who Em?" He said leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

"With Hook" She said over her shoulder as she did her best to make it out the door

"Not so fast princess" Emma stopped in her tracks. Not only did she hate the nick name, but she also knew that he was very very serious at this point.

"Yea?" She said turning around as calmly as possible.

"Did you forget your assigned to desk duty?"

"No. But I didn't think that meant that I didn't get to go to lunch"

"Emma"

"Dad"

"I know what you did" he said straight forward. He knew it was the only way he was going to keep her at his side for the rest of the day.

"What are you talking about?" Emma replied trying not to let the red in her face overtake her and give her away

"I know that you and Ella went to the movies yesterday after I told you to go directly home"

"I don't know what you're talking about but hook is waiting for me at grannies" She said trying again to leave

"Emma"

 _"Crap..."_ Emma said under her breath "Yes?"

"Stop lying to me"

"Dad.."

"Em. I know that you are not going to meet Hook at grannies. I know what you and Ella did and frankly I'm pretty pissed at both of you. That being said you aren't leaving this station. That's the end of it"

"DAD!"

"Emma!" He responded sarcastically

Emma crossed her arms and stomped her foot

"That's really cute Em" David said getting up and walking towards his daughter and placing his hand on her shoulder and leading her back to her desk.

"Now sit. I'll call Gram and have him bring us back some food" he said picking up his cellphone off of his desk "Oh, and you should probably text Ella and let her know she can go to the cafeteria for lunch" he said with a slight smirk

Emma's jaw dropped as her father went on with his phone conversation. She knew he was good but not that good. However, she knew that she should give Ella the heads up and hopefully keep her out of anymore trouble

OUAT

Ella looked down at her phone as she headed toward the door that led to the student parking lot and felt her heart drop. She had been looking forward to sneaking off and having lunch with her sister.

She was also a bit shocked that dad had seriously pulled the...well the dad card on Emma.

Ella was pulled out of her own thoughts by a deep voice from behind her "Princess?"

"Oh, sorry"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yea...everything's fine. Just some plans got changed"

"I'm so sorry"

"It's okay. And you don't have to call me princess, it's just Ella"

"As you wish. Shall we head to lunch?"

"Actually, I have a meeting that I have to be at"

"Oh, well then let's head to your meeting" Lancelot said starting to guide Ella away from the doors

"Actually, here's the thing. The senior party committee is meeting at Grannies off campus because we have off campus lunch so I will be back at one" and with that Emma did a turn and slipped away from Lancelot before she felt a firm hand grasp her backpack

"Princess I can't let you do that" Lancelot said pulling the young woman toward him and making her face him

"Look Lancelot, I understand that my parents gave you strict orders to follow me around and what not but I can't not show up to the meeting. Just tell them I snuck off or whatever you want"

With that Ella tried to walk away from the knight again only to feel the same grasp on her backpack but tighter this time

"I'm sorry Princess but I can't allow you to do that. If there really is a meeting I am more then happy to accompany you but I do not believe that there is actually a meeting am I correct?"

Ella hung her head in defeat. She knew it was going to be hard but not this hard.

"That's what I thought. Now let's go ahead and head toward the cafeteria and get you some lunch"

OUAT

The day went buy slower then molasses in January but eventually the school bell rang and Ella was finally able to leave school. She saw her father's car parked out side the school and started headed that way praying that Lancelot would finally feel free to quit following her, but she had no such luck.

Ella noticed Emma sitting in the passenger seat so she went toward the back seat door and hopped in. "Hey dad let's go!" She said in a hurried tone

"Give me a minute El, I'm just going to talk to Lancelot a minute" and with that David stepped out of the car to speak to the man who had literally been her shadow all day.

As soon as her father's door shut she lit her head on the grate that separated the front seat from the back. "Emma as are so dead"

"I know kid."

"And I may have made it worse"

"What did you do?" Emma said turning around to face her younger counter part

"I tried to shake Lancelot by telling him we had a senior party committee meeting at Grannies and he didn't buy it"

"Yea...Sorry for not giving you the heads up, he's a knight of the round table in our world"

"You could have warned me!" But before Ella had a chance to go on any further her father opened the door and hopped in the car.

He didn't say a word, he just started the car and pulled away and headed toward the station. Emma looked back at Ella who simple shrugged. They had thought that he was going to come back in and fully lay into them with the dad lecture about what they did.

When they arrived at the station he simply got out of the cruiser and walked into the station leaving the two girls alone in the car.

After a moment of silence, Ella finally decided to speak up

"Do we follow him in?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him act this way"

"Me either...I'm scared Emma"

"Me too"

"Do you wanna just jump in the drivers seat and take off. I mean, with all that we've done we might as well avoid it as long as possible"

"I am rubbing off on you two much kid. Come on, let's go" Emma said as she opened the door and got out. She then opened the back door to let Ella out.

Ella simply just stared up at her older counter part. "Do I have to?"

"Yes you have to. Come on. We're only delaying the inevitable"

"And the problem is?"

"come on" Emma said as she held out her hand to her little sister

Ella rolled her eyes and took Emma's hand as Emma pulled her to her feat and shut the door behind her before throwing her arm around Ella's shoulder "Come on kid, all for one?"

"And all are dead"

"Close enough Kid"

OUAT

David entered the station with a slight smirk across his face

Gram looked up at the sound of David entering the station. "What is that look for?"

"Oh I am just instilling panic and terror into my daughters"

"What?"

"They pulled a little stunt yesterday when I sent them home. They decided to stop and watch a movie instead. They would have gotten away with it too except for one of Snow's co-workers happen to see them and brought it up to her. I told Emma that I knew what she did and I'm banking on the fact that she told Emma, or the fact that we sent Lancelot to watch over her at school. Either way I picked Ella up with Emma in the car and stepped out to talk to Lancelot and haven't said a word to them since."

"I'm lost"

"They expected me to get upset and yell at them, the silence is killing them because they are waiting for me to finally let them have it"

"Are you going to let them have it?"

"Eventually but I am letting the panic set it first"

"Wow...I never want to be a parent"

"It's not that hard. It is really managing the art of manipulation"

Just then the girls walked in doing everything in their power to look anywhere but at David which made it almost impossible for him to hide the smile that was slowly spreading across his face.

"Hey Emma, Ella" Gram said as a smirk of his own began to appear

"Hey Gram", Ella said in a very small voice, almost as if she was afraid of her own voice. She took her seat at the edge of Emma's desk and pulled out her homework without any prompting and began to work on it as diligently as she possibly could while Emma grabbed the next folder on top of the pile and started to fill out the report.

David gave a glance over at them and found a strange satisfaction in seeing his girls in utter fear of the other shoe dropping. He didn't a whole lot of experience with parenting but he was pleased with himself that he managed to figure it out.

He let the girls work in silence while he finished up his duties at the office before he finally broke his silence but only to say "Let's go" after which he walked out the door. The girls followed in total silence as the dread of what awaited them when they got home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Hey everyone I'm so sorry for the delay. Things have been crazy but I hope that this chapter is worth the wait. I'll try and get one more up this month before I move in August which is going to obviously take up a lot of my time but this fall I hope to do a weekly update.**

David pulled up the the loft and got out of the car still not acknowledging the girls but keeping a straight face was getting harder to accomplish.

"Okay, now we run away right?" Ella said leaning up toward the front seat

"Ella we are already in enough trouble as it is. If we run now we are only going to prolong the inevitable" Emma said as she opened her door

"I don't think I'm ready for whatever is going to come once we get up stairs"

"Well good news is we get to do it together" Emma said holding out her hand to Ella.

Emma didn't want to squash the little spark of positivity left in her little sister but she was having the same feeling and knew that their punishment was not going to be pretty.

OUAT

As soon as David got behind the front door he let out the laugh that he had been holding in.

"What is going on with you?" Snow asked a bit shocked at David breaking into a fit of laughter

"Well I told Emma I knew what she did and I'm assuming with Lancelot following her and the fact that those two are in kahoots means Ella knows so I gave them the silent treatment from when I picked Ella up from school till now."

"David! That's not very nice! They are probably in a panic right now!"

"Oh they are. Watching it build on their faces has been priceless. They are probably sitting in the car trying to mentally prepare themselves for what they are going to face"

"So what are you suggesting?" She said sauntering up to her husband

"I say we keep it up. Act like we don't care and give them one more day of the silent treatment until tomorrow night when we can address what happened"

"You have a dark side David Noland. It's kind of sexy" She said tracing her fingers along the buttons at the top of his shirt

"Well thank you" he said placing his hand on the small of her back and pressing her body to his

"You do realize our daughters are going to come through that door any minute"

"yes but..."

At that moment Ella opened the door followed by Emma

"GUYS! GROSS!" Emma exclaimed as she quickly covered Ella's eyes

"I'm scared for life" Ella replied from behind her sister hands

The couple looked at each other for a brief second before passionately kissing one another right there in the living room.

"COME ON!" Emma exclaimed in disgust rushing Ella off to their room upstairs

"Well that should buy us some time" Charming said looking down at his wife once the girls were out of each shot

"Well then let's utilize it" Snow replied grabbing his collar and pulling him toward their room

OUAT

The next day went on as the one before. Snow and Charming gave the girls the silent treatment saying only what they had to. At one point Emma had finally pulled out her headphones to combat the silence that was taking over the station. She knew that it was only a matter of time until her parents confronted them. However, being trapped with her father all day in the station on top of being given the silent treatment was starting to drive her insane.

Ella was in a bit of a better situation. At least she got to get away from her parents for 8 hours of the day while she was at school. However her friends and fellow students were starting to ask questions about lancelot and why he was following her around the school which was really embarrassing for her. But on top of off of that she was dreading her father picking her up from school while they had to go through another round of the silent treatment. She just hoped that her father would make Emma come with him so at least the two of them could have a conversation.

Emma was looking at the clock realizing that her father was going to be leaving to pick up Ella in just a few minutes so she began to gather her things and clean up a spot for Ella to do her homework when she had an idea

"Dad"

David simply turned toward her letting her know he had heard her without verbally acknowledging her.

"I can go get Ella today...if you want"

"Thank you Emma but we have already been over this. We will both be going to pick up Ella. In fact, let's go" and with that David got up and headed for the door

"You know dad, I could get a lot done here..."

"Emma"

"Coming" she replied quickly knowing that she was going to try and push her luck any further

OUAT

Emma and Ella felt like they were living in ground hogs day as they pulled up to the loft and David once again exited the car and headed inside leaving the girls alone.

"Okay. Either we are doomed to live the rest of our lives in silence or we are about to be murdered when we walk through that door" Ella said in distress.

"I know mom and dad and even though they haven't ever done this before, I know that they won't be able to keep it up, or at least mom won't. I could tell she wanted to talk yesterday but dad was telling her not to. There is no way we aren't going to finally get talked to when we get up stairs" Emma said very sure of herself. In reality Emma was scared that they would decide to continue this charade and she would have to spend another day in silence at the station.

"I really hope you are right because I would much rather take a punishment then have to continually go through this." Ella replied as they both shut their car doors and headed up stairs.

OUAT

"So how did silence part two go?" Snow asked seeing her husband enter the loft

"Emma finally brought out headphones it was driving her so crazy" He said with a slight smirk

"We have to talk to them tonight"

"I agree"

"So what do we want their punishment to be?"

"Well we already took Ella's cell phone and put Emma on desk duty for a week" David said thinking out loud

"I guess we leave Lancelot as Ella's body guard for the foreseeable future and say she can't hang out with her friends for a week" Snow chimed in

"And then I can restrict Emma to desk duty for another two weeks" David added

"I guess we have decided"

"These two girls are going to turn me gray faster then nature intended" David said hugging his wife

"But I'm glad they have a dad who cares enough to keep them safe" Snow replied

The sound of footsteps pulled them back to reality

"Alright, here goes nothing" David said guiding Snow to the couch

Emma and Ella walked in looking around in caution after the display of affection they walked in on yesterday and were relieved when they saw both their parents just sitting on the couch.

"Come on over here girls" David said before the girls could head upstairs

They both hesitantly walked over to their parents and sat down between them in the space that they had made for both girls.

"Girls do you know what we need to talk about?"

"Dad I'm so sorry and I promise that I will never try and pull a fast one on you guys again" Ella blurted out. The silent treatment and effectively warn her down and she was ready to confess, apologize, and accept her punishment so that they could all move on and leave this behind them.

"Ella we appreciate your apology and we are glad that you agree to not do it again but we want to know more about why you and Emma thought it was a good idea to go to a movie when we had told you both to go home" Snow said not letting them off the hook that easily

"Mom it was my idea. I know I'm not usually the one to break but I can't let Ella take the blame. I drove us to the movie theater and I was the one who came up with the idea to not tell you guys" Emma said looking at Ella to let her know they were in this together

"Well I appreciate you being honest Emma. However, you both decided to willingly disobey us no matter whose idea it was." David said looking from one daughter to the other

"Okay, I'm just curious. How did you two find out?" Emma said leaning back with a slight smirk. She knew they had covered their tracks well so someone either ratted them out or they had been followed.

"I think you two forget that back in our world our family was royalty which means, even though we may not know everyone personally, every one knows who we are."

"So you're telling me a stranger came up and told you they saw us at the movies?" Emma was not buying that a stranger was the cause of their demise.

"No, Ella, or as she may be better known to you as Cinderella, told me that she had seen you two at the theater and that she hoped one day her children would be as good of friends as you two were" Snow replied a bit annoyed with Emma's persistence. "Imagine my surprise to be standing in the office hearing about an outing that I had never been told of and having not to react to the sweet compliments of my coworker"

"Well I had to know what mistakes me and El made so we can avoid them next time" Emma said with a wink

"Oh no, there were be no next time" David said in a stern voice not liking what he was hearing "You two are on lock down till further notice. All your previous punishments stand but Emma your desk duty has been extended and Ella Lancelot will be your body guard until further notice"

"We hate that we have to be so protective but there are people out there that want to hurt our family and we can't let them do that" Snow said placing a hand on each girls knee

"You mean people like King George?" Emma said rolling her eyes. She had had a couple of run ins with her would be step grandfather but had always managed to best him every time.

"Who is King George?" Ella chimed in

"Do you not remember?" David said looking at Ella a bit confused. One time when Ella was younger King George had tried to kidnap her by sending one of his henchman to abduct her. Thankfully David had been holding Ella's hand and was able to step in front of the would be kidnapper before he could lay a hand on her.

"Who are you?" Ella said looking around at the now unfamiliar faces in the living rom.

"Ella, come on" Emma said nudging her in the arm

"Where am I?" Ella said beginning to panic. She got up off the couch and started looking around trying to figure out where she was

"Ella" Snow said walking up slowly to where Ella was standing and placing a hand on her shoulder "You're at home sweetie"

Snow shot Charming a panicked look. They had been warned that some memories may return later or never at all and that, in rare cases the amnesia could come back but it had been weeks since the accident and she had shown no signs of relapse or even a concussion.

"Come on Ella, faking memory loss isn't going to get you and your sister out of this" David said as jokingly as possible as he hoped that this was just a stunt.

"I have a sister?" Ella said looking at David having no idea who the man in front of her was

"Hey Kid" Emma said now worried a bit herself

"Who are you? Who are all of you?" Ella said starting to panic again backing further away from the three adults standing in front of her

"Ella" David said taking a step forward

"How do you know my name?" Ella said jerking away from his touch

"Ella, my name is Sharif Noland. There was an accident and my wife and my daughter and I are taking care of you okay?" David said trying to calm her back down.

"What accident?" Ella said still not convinced

"Ella, can you tell me the last thing you remember?" David said taking another step toward her so that way he could stop her if she tried to run. He understood she was upset but he also knew that it would not fair well for her to be wondering around Storybrooke unaware of who she was.

"There was a storm" She said a bit hesitantly not really knowing if that was a memory or not

"Good. Do you remember what happened during the storm?" He pressed a bit more

"I was in a car with someone...it was hard to see...Then..." Ella began to cry

"It's okay, you're doing great. That is all correct. There was a storm and you were in a car accident with Emma" he said point

"Who are you all?" Ella said through her tears "I just want to go home"

"It's okay Ella. You don't remember, but I'm your dad. This is your mom and your sister. You are safe here. This is your home" David said as he gently wrapped his arm around his youngest.

The three adults shared a concerned look. She was worse then the first time she had lost her memory. They had to get her to Doctor Wale to figure out what happened without causing her any more panic.

"Ella, how about a hot chocolate?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **Thank you all so much for you kind reviews! I'm also really excited about this plot twist. I have been planning this for a while and felt like this was the perfect time to interject it. Keep commenting about where you would like to see the story go.**

* * *

David slowly put an arm around Ella and led her to the kitchen. He then quickly gave Snow a look over his shoulder of total and utter confusion.

"Mom" Emma said walking up behind Snow and putting a hand on her shoulder. Snow quickly turned around almost startled by her daughters touch. "Mom, is she okay?"

Emma's face was paler then a ghost. She didn't know how to deal with this type of situation. All the situations in Storybrooke up to this point had to do with magic or a person that could be overcome. It didn't have to do with her family member loosing her memory for no apparent reason and having no way to solve it.

Snow quickly turned around and took Emma's face into her hands. "Oh Emma!" She then pulled her into a hug before placing her face back in her hands "Your sister is going to be fine, _WE_ are going to be fine. We have gotten through everything else and we will get through this do you understand?". Emma simply nodded in response knowing that opening her mouth would release the flood gate of tears that were building up just behind her eyes. Snow brought her close and kissed her forehead. "Now, let's go have some hot chocolate"

OUAT

"So Ella. How old are you?" David asked, trying to create conversation to keep his thoughts from running away from him.

"I'm 17" Ella responded hesitantly

"Do you know your last name?" David asked a bit more cautiously

"Nelson" Ella replied almost as a questions. She figured by the way that everyone was looking at her she was wrong on at least one of these things.

"So Ella, what is the last thing that you remember?" David finally said. He had to know where they were starting from if they were going to try and bring her forward into the present time line of events.

"I remember my foster family bringing me to the social services office because I was going to a new home. That must be with you and your wife and daughter I guess" She said trying not to make eye contact. If living in the foster system and told her anything it was that she she was better off keeping her head down and saying as little as possible in order to stay in her foster parents good graces.

"That's right. And we have loved having you here Ella" David said as positively as he could under the circumstances. He hated that she felt like an outsider instead of his daughter.

"Thanks..." Ella said thinking to herself that all of this was some sort of show that was going to quickly fade away as soon as she got comfortable so she decided she could do what she always did and keep her distance until they were ready to send her off to the next family.

"Ella, I hope you know I mean that." David said seeing the look of doubt on her face. "We really do love having you here. Even though you don't remember, we were in the process of adopting you"

That immediately got Ella's attention. No family had ever said that before. They had all been more then happy to send her on to the next group home or the next foster family and live their lives without her. "I don't remember that" she responded simply

"We really do love you Ella" Snow said coming up behind the young girl

"Yea kid. It's nice to have someone to share the spotlight with" Emma said plopping down in the chair next to her. She had to at least try and break up the seriousness that they were all feeling.

"I need to use the restroom" Ella said getting up out of her seat

"It's just around the corner honey" Snow said pointing to the door.

"Thank you"

OUAT

"DAVID!" Snow reprimanded

"What?"

"You really told her we were planning on adopting her?"

"What else was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know but I think you're making her feel trapped"

"GUYS!" Emma jumped in causing both Snow and David to stop and turn to their oldest.

"She is freaking out right now as it is and hearing you two argue is only going to make that worse! The best thing we can do right now is make her feel normal as possible which means letting her believe whatever it is that she things is the truth until we can find out a way to reverse this okay?"

At that moment Ella walked out of the bathroom to the onlooking eyes of all three adults. She started to rub the back of her neck in an uncomfortable way. "Um...can I lay down?"

"Of course! Let me show you where your room is" Snow said putting her arm around Ella to guide her upstairs. As they walked through the door Snow started to turn down the bed

"That's no necessary" Ella said quickly

"Oh nonsense, I don't mind" she said continuing on with out turning around

"Well...thanks"

"Of course sweetie! Now you rest and we will get something to eat a little later okay?"

"Okay" Ella said not wanting to make eye contact.

Snow took one more glance at her daughter feeling lost as to help her before closing the door.

OUAT

As soon as Snow closed the door Ella was quick at work tying the sheets together to make them long enough to reach the ground outside the window. She couldn't stay here. She didn't know these people from adad and the fact that they thought she was there daughter made her feel even more uncomfortable. She had to get away and find out what was really going on

She quietly opened the window before throwing the sheet's down, relieved to see that they did in fact reach the ground

OUAT

As soon as Snow was headed up the stairs Emma got up out of her seat and headed toward the front door

"Where do you think you're going?" David said giving her his dad look

"You know what she's doing right?" Emma said turning around a bit shocked that her father hadn't caught on

"What are you talking about?"

"Ella. You know she isn't actually going to rest right?"

"Emma.."

"Dad...Ella is going to run"

"I know" David said coming up to Emma and taking a hold of her arm

"We have to stop her"

"Emma, she needs her space and we have to give it to her"

"Dad"

"Emma. Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"What if..." Emma stopped. She couldn't finish the sentence

"Emma" David said placing his hand under her chin and bringing her gaze to meet his "We are going to bring her back Em. I promise" and with that he wrapped his daughter in a hug as a few stray tears escaped down her cheeks.

OUAT

As Ella moved away from the apartment building trying to stay away from what seemed to be the only main drag in this town she was in. Come to think of it, where was she? Last she knew she was in Boston with the Johnson's. They had been a nice family over all. They hadn't beat her but they always made sure she knew that wasn't part of the family.

She was glad to be away from them but this family was almost the polar opposite. She wasn't even sure she wanted to be apart of their family yet. She didn't even know them. She didn't even know what it was like to have a family. The only thing that she knew was, as strange as this family was, they meant what they said.

Ella had eventually wandered into a wooded areas just outside the main part of town. She found a fallen tree and finally sat down and let her emotions over take her as the tears began to roll down her face. Deep down she wanted to believe that this family wanted her but she was too scared of getting attached. She couldn't let herself believe that this would be her forever family, at least not yet

OUAT

"okay...yep...thanks Leroy. Leroy is going to have the dwarfs follow her at a distance so that way they can insure she is safe without tipping her off to the fact that she's being followed" David said hanging up the phone

"Maybe I should go get her. Remember I have a lot of the same memories that she does of growing up in the foster care system"

"Emma, I don't need both of you out wandering around right now."

"So letting Ella run off knowingly is okay but me going after her as a grown adult is putting myself at risk?" Emma said sarcastically

"Emma I know what I'm doing and right now I am asking you to trust your mother and I have stay here while I go and bring Ella back" David said sternly. Although Emma wasn't understanding fully at the moment, Ella didn't remember who she was or that he was her father but Emma did.

"Dad this sin't fair! I know what I'm doing! I'm a grown woman!"

"But you are also my daughter and right now I'm telling you that you need to stay here. Do you understand?" He said in his dad voice

Emma finally backed down flopping into a kitchen table chair. "Fine"

"Em, I love you but I need you to listen to me on this one." He then turned to Snow. "I'm going to go get our other girl, let me know if you need me" He said giving Emma one last look to let her know he was not messing around

"We'll be fine. Be careful" she said before giving him a kiss.

OUAT

"Hello There" Care a voice from behind her

Ella quickly wiped away the tear tracks on her face "Hello"

"Are you okay?" Asked the older man

"Yes, I'm fine. I just needed to clear my head"

"Are you sure?" He asked. Something about this man was making Ella feel uncomfortable.

"Yes I'm sure. I should actually be getting home" She said getting up and attempting to make her way back toward town when the man stepped in front of her.

"What's the rush?"

"My foster parents will be looking for me soon"

"Your foster parents?" The man said confused

"Yes, I'm just here for a short time. I'm living with the sharif and his family but I'm sure it won't last long" She said as she one again tried to leave but was prevented from doing so

"That sounds unfortunate. Why don't you come stay with me? I wouldn't mind having some pretty company around" He said with a sly grin that made chills run down Emma's spine

"I really need to be going" she said trying a final time to get around the man but this time he got a tight grip of her forearm.

"I don't think so little girl. You and I are going to get to know each other." And with that he started dragging her deeper into the woods.

OUAT

"DAVID!" Leroy said running up to David as he approached the dwarfs who were all gathered at the edge of the woods

"Leroy what are you all doing here? You're supposed to be watching Ella!" David exclaimed

"We were trying but by the time we found her somehow King George came out of no where and took her. I'm so sorry!"

David started pacing before finally slapping his hands on the hood of his truck

"I'm going to make him pay for this" He said in a low voice

"We promise we'll help you find her and bring her home" Leroy said putting a hand on the prince's shoulder

"I have to call Snow" He said walking toward the back of the truck for privacy "Call anyone who can help and get them out here to start searching the area" David called back to the dwarfs before putting the phone to his ear

OUAT

"Mom how can he do this to me? If anyone can relate to Ella right now it's me!" Emma complained once her father left

"Emma, I know you want to help but we cannot have both you and your sister running around right now!" Snow said back in frustration at her daughters persistence

"I'm an adult! I can take care of myself!" Emma complied further

"Emma, please just listen to us! Right now, Ella doesn't know we are her parents so she isn't going to take to us telling her what to do and we have to be careful not to push her too far. But you know who you are and that we are your parents and you also know the type of threats that have been coming in lately. Please just trust us to take care of you okay?" Snow said feeling defeated

"Fine" Emma replied. She wasn't happy with it but she also could understand where her parents were coming from even if she wasn't willing to admit that to them.

Just then Snow's phone rang

"David"

 _"Snow, George found her"_

"What! Where is she?"

 _"I don't know! Leroy and the dwarfs stopped me at the edge of the woods and apparently he got to her before they could. Snow I promise I'm going to find her"_

"I know you will Charming just promise me you will be careful and call me if you find anything"

 _"I will. Please stay with Emma. I won't be able to fully concentrate if I know you two aren't safe at the apartment"_

"We will be here waiting for you when you bring her home" Snow reassured him. She desperately wanted to go out and look for Ella but she knew that David was right. She needed to stay with Emma and make sure she didn't try and go after King George.

 _"I love you Snow"_

"I love you too" and with that she hung up the phone


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

 **So excited to be writing this story. I really like how it is developing and I love all the positive feedback I'm getting from all of you which makes me want to keep writing even more! I hope you enjoy!**

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Snow hung up the phone and took a minute to gather herself. She was starting to feel the panic roll over her. How could this have happened? Maybe Emma was right, they should have gone after her right away and not given her so much space. If they had just listened...

"Mom" Emma said pulling Snow out of her own consuming thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Everything is just fine" Snow said turning around and putting on her best brave face. "Now, why don't you help me start prepping dinner?"

"Mom. I can tell you are lying. What happened?" Emma said placing her hand on her hip in defiance.

"Emma, it doesn't matter what is going on because your father is taking care of it and we are helping him by making this place as welcoming to Ella as we can so that way she can feel comfortable with all of us until we can find a way to get her memories back. Now, please come over here and crack three egg's for me" she said handing her the carton she had just pulled from the fridge along with a small glass bowl.

Emma knew that Snow was not being upfront with her. This had to do with George because other wise she wouldn't be working so hard to have her stay busy. She had to find a way to sneak away from her mother but she knew it was going to be difficult. She grabbed the items her mother was holding out to her and began to crack the eggs knowing she was going to have to play along until she could find the perfect window to make her move.

OUAT

King George dragged Ella to a car that he had parked just beyond the tree line. Emma was beginning to panic. She didn't know who this man was but everything in her was telling him that he was not a good person and that she had to get away at all costs.

She struggled against his tight grip as much as she could but she was still no match for the older man. When they got to the car he opened the back door to the car and shoved her in before getting into the drivers seat. She tried to get out as soon as he shut the doors but there was some sort of child lock that didn't allow the doors to be opened from the inside.

"Now it's time to go have some fun" George sneered as he started the car and drove deeper into the woods.

OUAT

"Leroy you and sneezy head toward the west, Sleepy, Doc you take the east. Bashful and I will take the North while Dopy and Happy take the South. Please radio if there are any signs of Ella or King George so we can follow up on those leads. We have to find her before he gets too far with her" David said in a commanding voice. With that each pair headed off in their directions to try and cover each part of the forest to try and more quickly locate where George had taken Ella.

David's anger was brewing just below the surface and it was only his need to find Ella that was keeping it under control. He was still astonished at the level of cruelty and revenger that George would go to and wished that he would just come at David directly instead of trying to hurt his family. He was also hoping that Snow would be successful in keeping Emma at the loft until this was all over. He already lost one daughter and was not willing to loose another.

He loved how ferocious Emma was about protecting their family and going after people like George who threatened that but he also hated how reckless she was willing to be with her own safety in order to ensure the safety of others. Then again, she was he and Snow's child and they were famous for doing exactly that. If he could have picked one thing to _not_ pass down to his children it would be his reckless abandon only because it was getting more and more difficult for him to protect them.

Suddenly David looked down and saw tire tracks along one of the make shift roads that had been worn out in the woods. He quickly radio'd to the others that he and Bashful would be following them but that the others could start moving toward where he was to see if they could find where the tracks ended.

OUAT

Snow had effectively trapped Emma into making dinner which was breaded chicken. Emma's hands were covered in a mixture of egg, flower and bread crumbs as she dredged each piece in the different ingredients. She was becoming more and more annoyed with the process as it was making it hard for her to walk away and go up to her room because she would first have to stop at the sink and rinse her hands which would then lead to Snow asking why she was rinsing her hands before the job was complete.

Finally each piece was covered and Emma was able to clean herself up while Snow worked on frying them. While in the bathroom Emma was still trying to contrive a plan that would allow her to sneak away from her mother and join the search for what Emma could only assume was King George. However Emma's thoughts were interrupted by her mother knocking on the door.

"Emma? Are you okay in there?"

"Yea, just trying to get all this crap out from under my nails"

"There is a nail brush in the medicine cabinet that should help"

"Thanks" Emma replied rolling her eyes at the fact that her mother had a solution for literally anything that she needed. As much as she found it a bit ridiculous she actually loved it.

"Hurry up Emma. I still need help cutting up potatoes" Snow said before walking away from the door

That was when the Idea came to Emma. She would hated to make her mother panic but she knew it was the only way to get out of helping her mother cook dinner. She was going to have to have a little "accident" while cutting the potatoes. Snow would insist that she no longer help and it would give her the necessary amount of time to sneak away to her room and copy Ella's tactics of scaling out of the window. She had to admit she was pretty good at coming up with the perfect plan even if it did mean she would loose a little blood in the process.

She quickly finished cleaning her nails and headed out to the kitchen where her mother had laid out a large pile of rinsed potatoes that had to be peeled and sliced. Emma quickly got them all peeled and knew that this was her opportunity.

She put the first potato on the cutting board and put her thumb in such a way that it wouldn't cut anything off but would still give her a good size cut. She closed her eyes and pushed the knife down with her other hand.

"OUCH! Oh no! Mom I'm so sorry!"

"Emma! What's...Oh Emma! Let's get you into the bathroom!" Snow said placing her right arm around Emma while holding Emma's hand with her left hand. "How did you do this?"

"I guess I just wasn't paying close enough attention to where my fingers were in relation to the knife" Emma winced as the water ran over the cut

"Well thankfully it isn't deep but let's get some ointment on this and a bandage and then you can just watch me finish dinner"

"But mom..."

"Emma. That is final. Besides I don't want ointment and bandage pieces in my mashed potatoes" She teased

"Hey!" Emma said with a huge smile on her face

Snow finished bandaging Emma's thumb and they both headed back to the kitchen. Snow had been working on getting some biscuits into the oven before Emma had cut herself so she went back to doing that so that she could salvage as much of the dough as possible.

"So Emma what do you think Ella's going to think of this home cooked meal?"

"I think she'll like it but I also think that you are going a bit overboard"

"I'm not going overboard! I simply want her to feel at home and that she is wanted and the best way to do that is to show her that she is worth the time to cook a whole meal from scratch!" Snow went on with her back to Emma.

Emma knew that this was her chance so when her mother started ranting she quietly slipped off of the stool and tip toed up the stairs. She did have the advantage of the stove being on where the water for the would be potatoes was starting to boil creating enough noise to cover the noise of her steps. Once she hit the landing she quickly made her way to Ella's room and was relieved to see the sheet still hanging out the window meaning that she didn't have to re-tie anything or try and snake it out the window but could simply make her escape.

Emma knew that her parents were going to be upset when they realized that she was gone but she couldn't stay home knowing that something was wrong with Ella

OUAT

David and Bashful followed the tracks that they had found to a small country house on the edge of town where they saw a black four door parked outside which they could only assume belonged to King George.

"Hey guys. Get to the farm house as fast as you can. We found him"

"Roger that" Leroy replied

David was more determined then ever to get his daughter back and make that scum bag pay for attacking his family.

OUAT

"...I mean would you have loved to have a family make you a home made meal Emma?" Snow said turning around and realizing that Emma was no longer sitting on the stool where she had been. "Emma!" Snow yelled waiting for a response. She quickly reached over and turned off the burner where the water had been boiling and ran upstairs to see that the sheet was still hanging from the window. She immediately got out her phone and called David

"David we have a problem"

" _What do you mean? What happened? Are you all okay?"_

"I'm fine but Emma was able to sneak away during the two minutes I had my back turned and she's gone"

 _"Emma! Gosh Dang It! Why can't that girl just listen? Okay, I'll get Gram to go look for her. In the mean time I think we found where George is holding Ella. He is at the farm house on the edge of town"_

"Can you see Ella? Is she okay?"

 _"I don't know yet. I'm waiting for the rest of the dwarfs to get here and then we can surround the place and break in. In the mean time please stay safe"_

"I will. Bring our girls home safe"

 _"I will. I love you Snow"_

"I love you too"

OUAT

David hung up the phone and some of that anger that had been just below the surface began to come over the top. "Hey Gram. Emma had gone against my wishes yet again and snuck out and she is looking for Ella and King George."

" _I'll find her. Do you want me to just take her home when I do?"_

"Actually...lock her up in one of the cell's until I come to get her. I need to know she can't go after George and I also think she needs to learn a lesson"

 _"Okay...if you want me to..."_ Gram said a little taken a back by what David was saying but he also wasn't going to argue with his boss.

"Thanks Gram. I know it seem's extreme but when you're a parents you'll understand. Let me know as soon as you find her"

" _Will do. Talk to you then"_

David was really hoping that Emma hadn't gotten very far and that Gram would quickly be able to get her to the station where he knew she was safe.

OUAT

"What do you want with me?" Ella yelled at George as he dragged her into the small farm house

"Well my dear that is for me to know and you to deal with. For now all you need to know is that you are a very valuable to me right now and I'm going to use that to my advantage. Now, sit there and shut up" He said pushing her onto the coach in the living room.

Ella was starting to panic. She barely knew this new foster family and was sure that they wouldn't even bother to come find her. She didn't understand what the older man meant and really wasn't all that interested in finding out. She started pulling at the ropes that had been tied around her wrists but the more she pulled at them the more painful it became.

Ella had always dreamed of being saved from some of her not so great foster families and it had never happened and she began to doubt and discouragement start to creep in as her thoughts began to turn to the fact that the same would go for this situation. No one was going to rescue her and she had to fend for herself.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

 **I know I don't normally post two chapters in a weekend but I feel really inspired by this story right now so you all get to benifit ;) Also want to give a shout out to Loboselina and their amazing comments. Also you should go check out their story Breathless because it is amazing and one of my favorite stories right now! Hope you guys love this chapter!**

* * *

Emma knew that as soon as her mother realized she was gone she would call her dad and he would send Gram after her so she got out of town as fast as she could in her bug. She normally wouldn't have taken the bug because, if she was honest, it was the most recognizable car in all of Storybrooke and could give away her location but she had to get out of town before Gram or anyone could find her. As soon as she got to the woods she parked her car off to the side of the road hoping to cover it up a little bit so it would be a little bit harder to locate. She then made her way into the woods.

Emma wasn't very good at finding her way through the woods and it didn't take long for her to get turned around. "Crap" she said out loud looking around trying to get a sense of direction but the sun was starting to go down and it was getting harder and hard to see where she was going. She was really wishing she would have thought this through a bit more.

OUAT

George was in the other room talking on a phone but he wasn't talking loud enough for Ella to be able to hear him or understand what he was saying. She kept trying to work at the ropes and had managed to weaken them a little bit but still not enough for her to slip her wrists out. George walked back into the room with that same sly grin plastered on his face.

"Well young lady I've learned a little bit more about you and you are going to be even more useful to me then I first thought!"

Ella's blood ran cold at the look George was giving her in that moment. What did he know about her that made her so useful to him when she didn't even know who he was?

"What do you want?" she pleaded again.

"You don't remember who you are do you?" George said more as a rhetorical question

"Why does everyone keep acting like I'm someone else? I'm Ella Nelson and I'm a foster kid. I have no family and no friends and there is nothing else to know!" Ella yelled back out of pure frustration

"That may be what you believe but it is far from the truth" George said with a maniacal laugh. He knew that David had to be in an even bigger panic over Ella due to this situation and he was going to milk it for all that it was worth.

OUAT

David got all the dwarfs positioned around the house and they all approached the house looking for any sign of Ella or George. With the sun setting it made it easier to see into the windows and it was then that David saw Ella sitting on the couch yelling at George. He beamed with pride that she hadn't lost her fighting spirit through all of this.

"I have eyes on Ella. They are in the living room" David radio'd to the others.

"We can sneak into the basement and come up behind you" Leroy radio'd back.

"Perfect. Be careful and try not to make too much noise. Let me know when you are in position and we will move in on the front door" David replied. Just then his phone began to ring and it was George. He moved a little ways away signaling to Happy to radio the others about what was going on and to wait for his signal. He then answered the phone angrily.

"What do you want you scum bag"

" _That is no way for a sheriff to be talking now is it Charming?"_ George replied slyly.

"Talk" David said coldly

" _Well I just thought that you would like to know I have your foster daughter here and we are getting to know each other"_

 _"_ She is my _daughter_ and you better not lay a hand on her or I will make you pay more then you are already going to"

" _Well according to her she has no relation to you so I don't see why you are so upset"_ George said knowing that he was getting under David's skin

"She may not know who she is but that doesn't change anything. Now give her back" David hissed

" _And what fun would that be? No, I want something in exchange"_

 _"_ What?" David replied. He was beyond his tolerance for George's games

" _I'll tell you in an hour"_ and with that he hung up. David angrily put his phone back into his pocket and moved back to where he was near the front of the farm house before radioing the others that it was time to move.

OUAT

Anthony had been keeping watch to see if any of the other Charming family members had made themselves an easy target and was to call George with any chance that arised to make another move on the shepherd's family. He had seen Emma leave and get into her bug and had been trailing her since. He then called George to find out what he wanted him to do.

"Hello your highness"

" _What news do you have Anthony?"_

"The Princes other daughter has gone off into the woods. I have my sights on her and she seem's to have gotten herself lost"

" _What are you waiting for? Get her and bring her to me!"_ George hissed.

"Yes your highness" Anthony said before hanging up the phone. He then made his way toward Emma.

"Hello. You look lost" He greeted her kindly as to not alarm her

"Where did you come from?" Emma said a bit taken off guard by this presence

"I was just out here trying to clear my head and I noticed you looked a little confused. Can I help?"

"No, I'm fine" Emma said not trusting the young man

"Are you sure? I know my way around pretty well"

"Emma!" Came a voice from behind her. Gram had found her

"Gram? What are you doing here?" Emma said trying to play off the fact that he father had sent him to find her

"Your father sent me to find you. You're coming with me" He said glaring at the other man

"Gram..." Emma tried to argue with him but he cut her off

"It's not an option, let's go" He said grabbing on to her forearm and pulling her toward where he cruiser was parked. The two men shared a glare before gram turned back to guide Emma to the cruiser. He knew exactly what that man was trying to do and was relieved that he had been able to foil his plan.

When they got to the cruiser Gram put Emma into the back seat before moving to the drivers seat and taking her back to the station.

OUAT

Anthony called George "Hello you highness, there was an interference and she's gone"

" _You are useless! What happened?"_

 _"_ The deputy showed up out of nowhere and took her. I would have had her otherwise"

" _You had one job! Fine, I'll just have to work with what I have. Go back and watch the family and don't mess up another opportunity"_ George hissed at his henchman before hanging up. He had originally planned to make the Prince choose between his two children but he would have to come up with another plan.

He walked back into the living room where Ella was and glared at the child and began pacing trying to think of a new way to get at the Prince

OUAT

Once they were on the road Gram pulled out his phone to call David

"Hey David. I found her and we are on our way to the station. That slimy character Anthony was with her when I found her, I think he is working with him because he was trying to quote on quote help her" He said trying not to talk too loud so Emma couldn't hear him

" _Thank you so much Gram! That is a huge relief that you have her and she's safe. Just lock her up and stay there. We are at the old farm house and I can see Ella so we are going to storm the house and get her out and then I'll be over to collect Emma. Thank you again!"_

"Not a problem, I'm glad to help. Good luck and I'll see you soon" he said before hanging up the phone.

"Gram what the heck?! Why did you put my in the back seat?!" Emma yelled at her co-worker. She knew her dad was their boss but this was a bit of overkill.

"Sorry Emma but your dad is the one calling the shots not me. I'm going to be really upfront with you right now, I am going to lock you in a cell until he comes to pick you up. I don't want to but I'm not going to cross your dad"

"Gram you better not!" Emma yelled scooting up toward the grate that separated the front and back seat.

"Emma..."

"Gram let me out of here right now! My little sister is missing and I have to find her!"

"Your dad has already found her and then are bring her back to the station in a little bit but till then, I'm just following orders. Believe me I don't want to do it"

"Do you really think I'm going to let you lock me in the cell?" Emma said in a cocky tone

"Emma please don't make this harder then it has to be" Gram pleaded. He then looked over at his passenger seat where one of the magical cuffs was. He knew David kept one in his desk drawer in case they ever needed it and Gram figured that this was going to be one of those times. He pulled over and quickly opened the passenger door and put it on Emma before she had a chance to fight him. He then gave her an apologetic look before getting back in the drivers seat and continuing toward the station.

OUAT

David took a deep breath before giving the others the signal to go toward the house. He slammed into the front door with his shoulder effectively breaking it down. Ella screamed at the sound and then stared at her would be foster dad standing in the living room squaring off against the older man.

"It's over George" David said stepping between Ella and the King

"Well Shepherd I didn't think you had it in you"

"I will always find my family" At that moment the dwarfs had come up behind King George and effectively apprehended him

"You may have one this time Shepherd but this isn't over"

"Get him out of here" David hissed before turning around and looking at Ella. "Are you okay?" He asked untying her hands and noticing the rope burns on her wrists.

"You came for me" Ella said still in shock. No one had ever cared enough about her to do something like this

"Ella I will always come after you" and with that he kissed her forehead

Suddenly there was a blast of magic radiating from the two and Ella looked at David in awe. "Dad"

"Ella! You remember!"

"Dad! What happened?!" Ella said still in shock

"Long story kid you lost your memory again and King George kidnapped you but you're safe now okay?" David said placing a hand on either of her arms

Ella simply nodded before throwing herself into David's arms.

"I'm so glad you're back kiddo!"

"Me too" Ella said as tears began to stream down her face.

"Let's get you home now okay?" He said taking her face into his hands and wiping away some of her tears

Ella nodded and David took her hand to lead her out of the farm house and to the cruiser.

Once they were headed toward town David realized that he hadn't called Snow to update her on what was going on. "Hey Snow"

" _David! Did you find them? Are they alright?"_

 _"_ I have Ella in the car with me and Gram has Emma locked up at the station so I'm headed there to collect her and then I'll bring them home. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner"

 _"You had Gram do what?..you know what, never mind,It's okay, I'm just glad that everyone is okay"_

"I'll explain later. We should be home within a half hour. I love you"

 _"I love you too"_ Snow said before hanging up

"You had Gram lock Emma up?" Ella said looking at David in shock

"Well she snuck out to find you and I couldn't have her getting kidnapped either so I had Gram bring her some place where she would be safe" David said feeling a bit guilty realizing that it may have been a bit extreme

"She is going to be SO upset when we get there" Ella said with a little giggle as she thought about what that conversation was going to be like

"Yea...Well if this shows you two anything it's that I'm willing to go to extreme measures to ensure your safety" He said smiling back at Ella

"Extreme is a good word" Ella said rolling her eyes

"Well we're here. I'm going to have you sit in my office till we get King George locked up his cell okay?" David said placing a hand on her face

"Okay Dad" Ella said before getting out of the cruiser. David didn't like that King George was going to be in the same building as his daughters but at least he would be locked up.

He walked in and guided Ella into his office before he saw Emma sitting cross legged on the cot with her arms crossed and her head down and he couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Hey Gram, thank you again for helping me out. I know it couldn't have been easy"

"Well..." Gram said rubbing the back of his neck with his hand avoiding eye contact with the Prince

"What?" David said a little confused

"I knew you had a magic cuff in your desk so...I used it" He said feeling absolutely awful. David put a hand on his shoulder which surprised Gram and he looked at the Prince

"Don't feel bad. You did exactly what you had to do. Thank you" He said with a kind smile. He knew Gram was only trying to keep Emma safe which is all he could ask for."I'll go talk to her"

"Hey Em"

"I'm not talking to you" She said not moving

"Hey, If anyone has a right to be upset it's your mother and I. We specifically asked you to stay put and you deliberately disobeyed us and snuck off and almost got yourself kidnapped" David said crossing his arms to match his daughter

"I was perfectly fine" Emma said coldly

"Really? Remember that guy that you met in the woods? He works for George" David said mater-a-factly

"I could have taken him" Emma replied

"Emma this is enough" David said unlocking the cell. Emma stood up and walked out still not making eye contact with David. "Please go into my office with your sister" he said putting his hand on her back and gently pushing her in that direction. Emma reluctantly obeyed but knew that trying to argue was pointless.

Once she walked in she saw Ella sitting in the office chair and desperately wished that she had her memories back so she had someone to complain with. Ella turned the chair around and smiled at Emma. "Man, Dad can really go overboard can't he?" Ella said with a wink

"Ella?" Emma said in shock...did she have her memories back?


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

Hope you guys like the story so far! Thank you so much for all your comment and reviews! They make my day!

* * *

David watched Emma go into his office before he signaled to Gram to watch them as he walked out to where the dwarfs had George in the other car. He signaled to Grumpy to go ahead and bring him in so they could lock him up. He really wished that he could have taken the girls home first but he didn't want to give George any opportunity to escape so having them in the office under Gram's watch would have to do.

Grumpy jerked the older man out of the back seat where they had him handcuffed and shoved him toward the door of the station. "Get moving" he emphasized.

David walked out and got a tight grip on the older man's forearm and guided him easily into the station and made quick work of locking him in one of the cell's, leaving the cuff's on for good measure.

"Well at least I still get to stair at your daughters" King George said with a chuckle

"Don't talk about my daughters!" David said throwing himself at the iron bars

"David" Came a voice from behind him. Gram knew that David was not going to accomplish anything loosing his temper which was exactly what George wanted. "Don't give him what he wants. Take the girls home"

David stopped and glared at the would be king knowing that his partner was right, he needed to take Emma and Ella home where they would be safe

OUAT

"Ella?" Emma said staring down at her little sister wondering if she really knew what she was saying.

"I mean, I always knew that out of the two of us you would be the one who would end up in a jail cell but not at the hands of dad" Ella said sarcastically

Emma let the tears flood her eyes and quickly wrapped her arms around her little sister. "I missed you kid!"

"I would say the same thing but I didn't remember that I missed you so..."

"Quit being a smart alack!" Emma jokingly scolded "So when did you remember?"

"Dad came in and was untying me from the chair that George had me in and he kissed the top of my head and everything came back"

"Mom is going to be so elated! You had us all really worried kid!"

"Yea, apparently enough for you to be stupid enough to almost get kidnapped along side me"

"HEY!"

"What? You knew that going after me wasn't going to go well for you but you did it any way" Ella said giving her sister a knowing look. They may have a large age gap but they still could read each other

"Fine! But I wasn't going to just let you be taken by George and not do something!"

"I'm just curious how you got away. I know mom and dad had to be watching you like a hawk"

"Oh believe me they were! Mom had me helping her make breaded chicken and my hands were covered in all kinds of crap. I ended up having to cut myself on purpose to get away!" She said showing her wrapped thumb to Ella

"Dang! And you think Dad goes to extremes!" Ella laughed at her sister antics

"Speaking of...I'm not talking to him. I still cannot believe that he had Gram not only lock me in a cell but also put a freaking cuff on me!" Emma said clawing at the thing

"Come here you big baby" Ella said standing up and walking toward her sister and successfully removing the cuff from her sister.

"Thank you!" Emma said slightly more dramatic then she had planned. She hated how the cuff made her feel tired as it blocked out all her magic.

"You're welcome" Ella said slightly amused at her sisters over reaction. "So how much trouble do you think we're in?"

"Oh I'm sure we're grounded for eternity, or at least until mom and dad start to look like they are aging, which every comes first" Emma said slightly jokingly slightly serious.

"Dang..." Ella said letting her thoughts drift off until a slight smirk came across her face "Wait...who are you?" Ella said trying to make her face blank with no success

"Oh no you don't kid!" Emma said playfully smacking her upper arm

"What? It could happen right? I mean, it was a pretty good distraction before"

"I would agree accept you scared the crap out of all of us which was not okay so, as much as I don't want to be tethered to my desk, I'd rather you not pull that one over on them got it?" Emma said a bit more serious. She couldn't help but remember the fear that was washed over her parents faces when Ella's memories had vanished there in the living room. She had never seen them like that and knew that Ella, even jokingly, acting like she had lost her memories once again was something Emma knew her parent's wouldn't handle well.

Ella saw the look that swept over Emma and she realized just how much her little episode had really done to her family and knew exactly why Emma's demeanor had changed. She was glad that they had had this conversation now instead of in front of their parents because Ella knew that it would probably be too much for them to handle. She simply nodded and responded with a simple "Okay Em"

OUAT

David turned away from the cell and made his way to his office where his face took a softer look at seeing his daughters interacting. He felt so relieved to see them talking and laughing with one another, knowing that they had Ella back, knowing that they were both safe. He had done what he had always promised, that he would find them and that he would protect them and it made his heart swell. He hated to interrupt them so he decided to call Snow with a quick update to give them both a few more minutes together.

" _Charming? Is everything okay? Are you almost home?"_

"Hello my dear. We are at the station. I just finished locking George in one of the cell's and the girls are in my office talking. I just thought I would call and give you an update"

" _You did a good job Charming. You kept them safe"_ Snow said in a knowing tone. She knew that David needed to hear that, even though things obviously did not go as they had hoped with Ella getting kidnapped, he still was able to find her and bring her home.

"Thanks Snow" He said in a bit of a far off tone as he continued to watch the girls interact

" _Charming"_

 _"_ Yea?" he responded quickly not realizing he had let his mind wander

" _We will get our Ella back"_

David gasped. He realized that he hadn't told Snow that Ella had gotten her memories back "Actually Snow, she's back! I don't know exactly what happened but when I kissed her forehead when I found her there was magic and she remembered!" He could here Snow crying on the other end out of pure joy and relief.

" _Charming you could have told me!"_ Snow said a bit frustrated but mostly relieved

"I'm so sorry! I got so wrapped up in getting them both to safety..."

" _It's okay Charming. I understand. I'm just relieved that we have BOTH our girls with us now. By the way, what did you mean when you had Gram lock Emma up at the station?"_

"Yea...well...Snow I just needed to know that she wasn't going to try and give Gram the slip and the best way to do that was to have him lock her up at the station" he said feeling a bit guilty. "What I didn't plan on was him also bringing a cuff with him and putting it on her, but he was just trying to keep her safe so I have to appreciate that"

" _DAVID! She is still our daughter!"_

 _"_ Yes, our daughter who won't do what's she's told!"

 _"But we can't make her feel like a criminal! She has to be livid"_

"That's one way to put it. But I think seeing Ella back to her normal self helped to take the edge off of what happened. Snow I know I went to extremes but I couldn't have her putting herself in danger. One of George's men was about to take her when Gram showed up"

" _I know you were just doing what had to be done...I just don't like the idea of her being locked in a cell like a criminal"_

"I know but that wasn't the point, the point was to make sure that she was safe from herself"

" _I know. I'm sorry I got upset. Get home so we can be a family again!"  
_

"I will. We will be home shortly. I love you"

 _"I love you too"_

And with that Charming hung up the phone and went over to Gram. "Thanks buddy. You were right I needed to cool off"

"Not a problem, I can't stand the guy either but getting into a game of words with him is only going to lead you to do something you'll regret"

"Agreed. I"m going to get the girls and go home. It's time for some much needed family time and some difficult discussions"

"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow"

OUAT

"Emma..." Ella said a bit exasperated

"No Ella. I'm not talking to him. Not only did he have Gram lock me in a cell but he also had him put a stupid cuff on me"

"You were being reckless!" Ella argued back

"You were in danger! I wasn't going to sit home and cook while we had no idea where you were!"

"But you could have been kidnapped to and then where would they be? Emma. I love that you wanted to come after me but I would never have been able to live with myself if mom and dad had to choose between the two of us. You know that and you also know that you are just being stubborn"

Emma glared at Ella knowing that he sister was right but she still wasn't ready to give in

"You ready girls?" David said walking in and looking from girl to girl wondering how the two happy girls he had observed had quickly turned sower.

"Yep!" Ella said walking over and linking her arm in Emma's. Emma just looked down at her and rolled her eyes knowing that Ella was doing everything she could to smooth things out between her big sister and her dad.

David saw the same thing and smirked at Ella's antics but decided not to comment. He knew that Emma was upset but he was still going to stand by his decision. "Alright let's get going then" he said instinctively opening the door and placing himself between the girls and the cell where George was

"Oh, bummer. I was so looking forward to some eye candy" George taunted. David quickly turned and glared at the man while placing a firm hand on the girls backs and quickly leading them out.

"That guys gives me the creeps" Ella said with a small shake as chills ran down her spine

"Well the good thing is you're never going to have to see him again" David said giving her a quick kiss on the side of her head before helping her into the truck

"Now, let's go see your mom. She's very excited to have you back both physically and mentally" David said with a wink before shutting the door and moving around to the drivers seat

Ella felt so safe being in between her father and her sister. She really had found her home and never wanted to leave it.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

 **Time to go home and have that family talk that keeps getting delayed. Thank you all for your great reviews and comments. It has been a joy writing this story and it's great to know you all love it as much as I do!**

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When they pulled up to the loft David was on high alert. After everything that was going on, he wasn't going to let anything happen to his daughters under his watch. He quickly got out and made his way around to the other door just as Emma was opening the door and he helped her down while still keeping a firm hand on her back while he helped Ella down and then led them both inside keeping a keen eye on their surroundings. Emma and Ella shared a knowing look and then both shared a matching eye roll at their father's over protectiveness.

They didn't even get to the door before it flew open and an elated Snow came bursting on to the landing and immediately wrapped her arms around Ella. She cradled her youngest's head in her hands trying to soak in every detail of the moment. Having almost lost her she decided that she wouldn't pass up another moment with either of her children. She eventually pulled away enough to be able to hold Ella's face in her hands as tears ran down both their faces. "I have missed you so much"

"I missed you too mom. It's good to be back" and with that Ella gripped her mother tighter. She always felt safest when she was with her parents and this moment was no different.

"Let's go inside and make some cocoa and have a talk" David said throwing his arm around Emma and leading her into the loft followed by Snow and Ella.

Both of the girls decided that they would rather be in comfortable clothes for this talk so they went upstairs to change while Charming and Snow started making the Cocoa. David had already started heating up a pan of milk when Snow came and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back and stayed there for a moment before speaking.

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"For bringing them both home safe"

"You know you don't have to thank me for that. It's my job to protect them no matter what"

"That's why I love you. Watching you love our girls makes me love you so much more"

At that Charming turned around and took Snow's face in his hands before passionately kissing here. Charming loved how in love they still were after all these years. Some would call them children but they didn't care. They just wanted to say in this moment forever.

"Get a room guys!"

"Come on guys!"

Emma and Ella moaned at the same time causing Charming and Snow to separate and share a blushed smile and a giggle at the reactions of their daughters. THey were impressed that they could still provide them with a few traumatic childhood memories at this stage in the game not having been able to be with them their entire growing up.

"Is the cocoa ready" Ella said through her hands, only spreading her fingers apart slightly to make sure that her parents had in fact stop kissing

"Yes, it's almost ready. Why don't you pick out mugs for all of us" David said giving Snow one last quick peck before going back and stirring the milk that he had heating on the stove behind him.

"You guys seriously need to warn us before we stumble upon you two making out!" Emma wined before putting her head down on the island in protest

"Oh come on! I could say the same thing about you and Killian but you never do! How do you think it makes me feel to see my baby making out with that pirate!" David joked back

Emma lifted her head up and quickly put it back down to hide her blushing cheeks.

"That's what I thought" he replied feeling pretty proud that he had bested Emma who was always complaining about he and Show's personal displays of affection.

"Alright girls, come to the couch" Snow said picking up a tray that contained the four hot cocoa's and some cookies and walking them to the coffee table in the living room.

Each girl shared a bit of a panicked look before taking their places on the couch. They knew that this moment was coming, but with everything that had been going on, they had both hoped that their parents would just let it go and move on. However in this case their was no such luck. To top it all off Ella had been kidnapped and Emma had snuck out which means everything they had done before was only going to compound on top of it all. If they were lucky they would be done with their punishment by the time they were both married with children.

"So girls, I think you know we need to talk about everything from before as well as the things that have transpired as of late" David said looking from girl to girl.

"We love you two very much and we are only doing this because of that. Our job as your parents is to protect you at all costs, wither you find our methods extreme or not really isn't going to change what we have decided" Snow added trying to set the girls up and, hopefully, avoid any arguments.

"Girls, do you understand now why your mother and I are so adamant about the two of you telling us where you are and not going out alone? George is not going to stop until he thinks he has ruined my happiness and he knows that the quickest way to do that is attack my family which means you girls and your mom. I could never live with myself if something happened to any of you" He said looking at his daughters and placing a hand on Snow's knee.

"Can I just state for the record that I was never harmed in any of this?" Emma said sarcastically. She hated these emotional moments with her family because she never knew how to handle them.

"Emma!" Snow scolded at her daughter trying to make light of the seriousness of what they were trying to get across

"What? I am an adult! I love you both and I know you want to keep my safe but I can make my own decisions and I choose to go after Ella. I would have found her too if Graham hadn't interfered" She protested by crossing her arms and throwing herself against the back of the couch.

"Emma I think you are leaving out the fact that Graham's 'interference' was what kept you from being kidnapped same as Ella" David said standing up and looking down at Emma.

Snow looked at Emma in complete shock. David hadn't had a chance to fulling go over the details of what had gone on at the farm house but he had failed to mention that Emma had almost been kidnapped as well.

"Emma Ruth!" Snow scolded "How dare you try and act like you were not also putting yourself in danger!"

David gave Emma a 'told you so' look before feeling a swift smack to his thigh which caused him to quickly turn and look at Snow in a bit of shock. "What was that for?"

"That's for not telling me that George almost got Emma!" She retorted

"I haven't exactly had a free moment between keeping these two in line and defeating George to go over all the little details! The important part is that she is safe and Graham got to her before George's man could"

The two continued to bicker a bit which gave Emma a chance to talk to Ella for a brief second "What do you say we get out of here while their distracted?"

"You know that Mom would sense the second we moved off this couch" Ella said giving Emma a look that told her it was a bad idea

"I don't know...she seem's pretty upset about dad leaving out all the details about what happened to us...this is our chance"

"You move first" Ella said not wanting to create any more waves in this already rocky situation

"Gladly" Emma said quickly moving to the far edge of the couch and starting to stand before she heard the voice that made chills run down her spine

"Don't even think about it" Snow said still staring down David. This caused Emma to immediately sit back down on the couch which brought a sly smile from Ella

"Told you"

"Shut up" Emma said glaring at Ella

"We will finish this later" Snow said giving Charming a look that let him know their conversation was not over but that it was not the most important thing at the moment. "Now" She said turning back to the girls "It's time to talk about you two"

Both girls quickly looked at their laps knowing that they had run out of distractions and that this conversation was going to happen wither they liked it or not.

"Alright now for starters, we still need to discuss the fact that you two snuck away to a movie when I had specifically instructed the both of you to go straight home" David said still standing with his arms across his chest

"About that" Emma started but quickly stopped when Snow shot her a look that let her know that another word was not going to go well for her.

"You two were not sent home so you could hang out, it was to keep you both safe" David continued

"As your parents it's our job to protect you from others, and when necessary, from yourselves" Snow added

"From now on, you two are under watch" David said in a tone that let him know there was no amount of arguing that was going to change this decision.

"Lancelot will be looking over you Ella" Snow said. "He was a member of the round table and a dear friend of ours"

"You might remember him from the other day" David added in a bit of a knowing tone

"I remember" Ella said still not making eye contact. She hated the looks she got from her friends and fellow students at the sight of a large man following her in close proximity around school with no explanation. She already felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb with who her parents were and this would only make things worse.

"And Emma you will be with your father at all times"

"It beats being tethered to the desk all day" Emma said a bit louder then she had meant to

"Oh that doesn't mean you get to see any action, if I get a call you come with me but you are to stay in the squad car, understood?" David added with a no nonsense tone. HE was not going to let Emma take this opportunity to put herself in danger, again.

"This stands until further notice, for both of you. We have had enough close calls with the two of you and frankly I don't know if my heart can handle anymore" Snow said

Both girls shared a sorry look and knew that their parents were serious this time, they weren't going to be going anywhere unescorted for quite some time.

"Now, you both can head upstairs and get ready for bed" Snow said wanting to have some time to talk to David alone.

Both girls stood up and made their way toward the stairs when David called out to them.

"And girls, I already put dwarfs on guard duty so if you even think about sneaking out again, it's not going to happen" He wanted them to know that whatever plans were swirling around in their heads could end now because he and Snow had thought of everything. Both girls simply nodded and continued up the stirs.

OUAT

"Well that was harsh" Emma said throwing herself on her bed

"Come on Em, you knew this was coming. We pushed the line WAY to far this time and you know it" Ella said following the instructions that their parents had given to get ready for bed

"Maybe you did but I'm 30 years old! I don't need a babysitter! Much less getting grounded!"

"Emma, you and I both know it doesn't matter how old you are, mom and dad are going to protect you no matter what. It wouldn't matter if you moved out, they would have sent someone over there to follow you around or forced you to move home." Ella said rolling her eyes at her older counter part. She figured being the oldest Emma would understand this by now.

"But at least if I lived on my own I could have Killian over without Dad glaring at him"

"That may be true but for now we are stuck with what we have. Let's just play nice and earn their trust back so we can get through this punishment quickly okay?"

"Are you sure you aren't somehow the oldest? I mean the curse did stop aging"

"Shut up" Ella said grabbing a nearby towel and chucking it at Emma who easily dodged it

"No I'm serious, I mean Killian is over 100 so..."

"Stop it you wierdo!"

The girls started laughing at their little jabs back and forth. Emma had really missed this.

OUAT

"So back to our conversation" Snow said as soon as she heard the door shut up stairs.

"Snow..."

"No, David. I understand why you didn't tell me, you wanted to keep me from worrying. But you forget that they are my daughters too. It's my job to worry about them as much as it is mine"

"And it's my job to worry about you" David interrupted taking her face in his hands before kissing her square on the lips

"Charming you are terrible, you know that?"

"Terribly Charming you mean" he said kissing her once more. "I know you want to worry about them and I didn't mean to purposefully leave out details. I really just got caught up in everything that was going on and didn't feel like causing you unnecessary worry about Emma was something to share with you over the phone when she was already safely at the station"

"Speaking of the Station..."

"I know she won't forgive me for that for a while and I'm okay with that. If anything it taught them both a valuable lesson"

"And what is that?"

"I will go to any and all measures to safe them from themselves when necessary"

Snow let out a chuckle "That is one lesson they learned, that's for sure!"

"Snow I love you so much"

"I love you too Charming. And the fact that you always do what is necessary to keep them safe makes me love you more"

"So do I get a reward for that?"

"I don't know...do you think you've earned it?"

"I have to be with Emma all day everyday during this little punishment we cooked up, I think I'll earn it" He said a bit sarcastically. He loved his oldest but he knew he was going to have to be on her all the time because she was not one to cooperate.

"That is true! But if anyone can keep her safe, it's you"

"I appreciate you vote of confidence"

"Anytime... _Charming"_ she said grabbing his collar and pulling him toward the bedroom.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20**

 **We're going to jump ahead a little bit here so that we can move the story along but don't worry, I'll give you a little peak at how their punishment went :) Thank you all again for your continued support! So excited to hear what you think of this chapter**

* * *

Their first day of punishment, both girls decided to play nice and follow their parents orders but it wasn't too long before each girl attempted a few escape attempts. Emma had convinced David to leave her alone at the station while he went on a call. Little did Emma know he had set up a boarder spell that kept her from being able to leave the station unless she was accompanied by himself or Snow.

Ella had been a bit more discreet and had found the backdoor to the girls locker room that led to the athletic fields was unguarded and had managed to get pretty far before Lancelot caught back up with her.

Both girls had managed to extend their punishment by one week but had finally come to the end of their punishment. However, during this time, they had not found King George which still had both Charming and Snow on edge and were hesitant to leave the girls punishment in place simply for that reason but knew that it wasn't necessarily fair to either of them to continue to be punished for someone else's actions. However they did have Lancelot stay on guard at the school and keep watch from a distance just for security and her parents peace of mind.

OUAT

Emma woke up excited to know that today she was finally going to get to be the sharif again instead of constantly having to do paperwork and sit in the car while her father and Graham did all the heavy lifting. She was ready to start taking calls and do what she was originally hired to do, sharif. She came down stairs all ready for the day wearing knee high boots with her jeans and her leather jacket as always.

"Well someone's in a good mood this morning" Snow said hearing Emma bound down the stairs.

"Why yes I am! I get to finally go back to being co sharif today!" She said sitting on one of the stools at the island in the kitchen

"Emma, about that" Snow said avoiding making eye contact with her eldest knowing that what she was about to say was not going to go over well.

"Mom..." Emma said eyeing the woman in front of her. She knew this wasn't going to be good news and she really wasn't ready to hear it either.

"Now Em, you need to understand that your father and I have to do what is best for you and Ella even when you don't like it"

"Mom I am not letting you extend my punishment! I'm sorry but I am freaking 30 years old and I am WAY to old for you and dad to ground me!" Emma started in protest

"Emma Ruth" Came her father's voice as he exited the bathroom. "I don't care how old you are, you are still our daughter and you will talk to us with respect" He said giving her a look that let her know she better make a 180 degree turn in her attitude real quick.

"Dad.." Emma began to ague before David simply gave her his dad look and it shut her right up

"Emma, you didn't even give your mother a chance to finish explaining what she was saying. We aren't extending your punishment because we don't think that it's fair to you or your sister to punish you because of someone else's choices. However, that doesn't mean that we are simply going to let you go off without being protected"

"Dad I can protect myself. No offense but I'm not a kid anymore. I mean I understand that Ella is still a teenager but I'm 30!" Emma said trying to keep her temper under control.

"Emma I don't care if you are 3 or 30, you are still our daughter and we are going to what we think is best wither you like it or not" David said crossing his arms. "Now here are the conditions. You can go on calls and you can help but you aren't going out without me or Graham, not until we know where George is. I"m not trying to limit you Emma, I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Your father and I couldn't live with ourselves if anything happened to you or your sister" Snow said placing her hand on Emma's.

Emma looked from one parent to another and carefully thought about how she was going to respond because she knew she was on thin ice. "Okay, I understand" She replied simply.

"Good, why don't you head to the station and I'll meet you there" David said knowing that the short drive would be okay and would give her a few minutes to cool off.

"See you guys later" she said as she headed out thankful for the out

When the heard the door close David placed either hand on the island and let his head hang while letting out a deep sigh.

"Charming?" Snow said a bit worried at her husbands reactions.

"I'm sorry Snow. I know I don't normally react that way"

"But you're scared. I know, so am I. If it was up to me I would keep them both locked in the house until we found George, but we are doing the best we can"

"I just wish that she understood where we are coming from!" David said as he slammed his hand on the island in frustration.

"David, maybe it's time we tell her what we know about George instead of trying to hide it from her" Snow said placing a light hand on his shoulder

"But if we tell her she will want to go after him. The less she knows about this whole situation the better" he protested. He knew his wife was trying to help but he could see no good coming of filling in Emma of what they knew because he knew she would try and put the rest of the pieces together, and in the process, put herself in the middle of a situation she couldn't get out of.

"David, what are we supposed to do?" Snow said feeling at a loss

"I don't know Snow...I don't know" David said pulling her into his embrace

OUAT

Emma started toward the station before the realization hit her that this was her first taste of freedom since her parents had grounded her and Ella. She pulled over and reached into her back seat where she was hiding a file full of news paper clippings and other papers that all had to do with King George. Although her father had tried to keep her in the dark by not allowing her into his office and keeping her doing busy work, she had managed to pick up a few pieces and over hear a few things that had helped her to start putting together the puzzle that was King George.

She had found the reports about small random break in's that had been popping up around town keeping Graham and her father busy running around town. The amount of break in's had multiplied exponentially over the last few weeks, one even included a possible break in at the elementary school but the perp had been deterred by the loud alarm that went off from the emergency exit that they tried to enter. Emma could only assume that all of these were connected somehow to George and that he was using this as a distraction from what his bigger plan was.

She looked up and saw the clock on her dash and realized her dad would be driving by any moment now and would be wondering why she was not at the station. She started putting the folder back together when a picture caught her eye, it was the farm house from the night Ella had been kidnapped. After that night David and Graham had searched the place over for any clues and had come up empty so they left the place a long and considered it a dead end. It dawned on Emma in that moment that it was only a dead end because that is what George wanted them to think.

She quickly put the folder on the passenger seat and threw her bug into drive and headed for the farm house. She knew here father would not be happy when he got to the station and didn't find her there, but finding George was more important than her father's happiness at that moment, at least to Emma it was.

OUAT

Ella went about her day always seeing Lancelot out of the corner of her eye. It really wasn't that weird for her anymore after having him constantly being around since her kidnapping and it actually made her feel safer having him around. The whole situation with George had given Ella nightmares but she didn't tell her parents or her sister for fear that she would make them worry more than they already were.

Having Lancelot at school had helped her to feel more at peace because she knew he was always watching her back and that he would intervene if anyone tried to come after her.

As she was putting books into her locker Henry came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to almost jump out of her skin. She tried to regain her composure but Henry had already noticed.

"Ella, are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. What's up Henry?" Ella said putting on her brave face

"Ella, I know you're lying. Our family has a shared superpower" Henry said giving her a look that let her know he was not going to let it go

"You can't tell anyone okay?" Henry simply nodded at her with an understanding look that begged her to go on. "I...I have been having nightmares since King George kidnapped me...Okay? You can't tell my parents or Emma about this! They will worry more than they already are and I don't want to put that on them okay?" Ella said this in a hushed tone hoping that Lancelot wouldn't overhear and give away her secret.

"I promise I won't tell anyone. But you know that they only worry because they love you right?" Henry said placing a comforting hand on her shoulder

"I know they love me but there are so many things going on right now that I can't add another to their plate" Ella said admittedly. She really wanted Henry to know that she was serious about him keeping her secret.

"I promised you, I'm not going to tell anyone, but I really think that you should tell them. I have to get to class but I'll see you later" he said walking away.

Ella grabbed the last of her things and shut her locker before doing the same but Lancelot stopped her before she could walk away. "Princess, I don't mean to overstep but I agree with your nephew, you should tell your family"

"Lancelot, I told you, you can call me Ella. And please, don't tell my parents. I really don't want them to worry more than they already are." She pleaded

"I won't tell them, for now. But if you don't tell them soon, for your best interest, I need to tell them. They would want to know if something is bothering you"

"Really? You're giving me an ultimatum?" Ella said putting her hand on her hip

"I don't want to princess but I know that this is for your own good. My job is to protect you, even from yourself" Lancelot said with a slight smirk at Ella's behavior.

"You sound like my dad" Ella said rolling her eyes "Now I should probably get to class"

"As you wish" Lancelot said before following her down the hall

OUAT

David pulled up to the station and was worried when he didn't see Emma's car and was hoping that she had simply stopped at Grannies for a coffee or that she had let Graham take it somewhere.

He walked inside and saw Graham at his desk but no sign of Emma.

"Good morning David"

"Morning...have you seen Emma?"

"No she hasn't been in yet, I figured she would come in with you as usual"

"No actually, I sent her ahead this morning which I'm realizing was a bad decision on my part" he said as he pulled out his phone

OUAT

Emma looked down to see her father calling and knew she was in hot water but she didn't regret going after her findings. She reluctantly answered the phone and put it to her ear

 _"You better be at Grannies grabbing coffee"_ David said through gritted teeth. Emma could hear his frustration through the phone and felt her heart sink into her stomach

"Dad..."

 _"Emma where are you!?"_ David said even more upset then before

"Dad I think I found out where King George is..."

 _"Emma get back here RIGHT NOW!"_ David finally let his temper get the best of her

"Dad...I can't" and with that Emma hung up. She knew she was going to pay for that later but she had to do what she knew was right and find King George once and for all


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

 **Sorry it has been so long, I'm excited to get back to writing and after reading some other FanFic I feel really inspired to start writing again. I hope you all like it!**

* * *

Ella grabbed the last few things out of her locker that she would need for the weekend and shut her locker before heading off toward the front door where she and Lancelot would meet Henry. She couldn't forget the fact that Lancelot had given her the ultimatum of telling her parents about the nightmares. She knew there was no way that she was going to tell her parents so she would have to come up with a very good lie to tell Lancelot and pray that he wouldn't go back and check with her parents on wither or not she was telling the truth. Henry was already waiting for the pair when they approached and they quickly headed out to the car and then headed home to the loft.

OUAT

Emma pulled up to the edge of the clearing where she could get a good view of the old farm house without being seen. She quickly shut off the car engine and the lights and got out of the car. She could see lights on in the house and a few shadows cast on the walls but nothing that confirmed her suspicions so she knew she was going to have to get closer. As she was approaching all that she could think about was how she hoped that her father wouldn't figure out what she had and come out here to find her. She knew if he did that it could put all of them at risk by blowing her cover and causing George to act on instinct which could end badly for all involved.

She approached the side of the house where there were no windows so that she would be seen and then stealthy moved around to the back where she could get a good view while still staying hidden in the shadows. If her dad could see her now he would be fuming. But Emma knew that this issue with King George had to end now before he had the chance to come after her family again.

OUAT

David slammed his phone down on the desk before quickly picking it back up and shoving it in his pocket and grabbing his key. "That girl...Graham let's go"

"Where are we going?" He said a bit confused

"Emma went after George, I need your help to find out where she is and we can cover more ground if we split up"

"She is a stubborn one isn't she?" Graham said trying to lighten the mood but that only got a dagger look from David and Graham quickly jumped up and grabbed his keys and followed David out to the cruisers.

"where do you think she went boss?" Graham said leaning on the side of the car

"Let's start by checking the toll bridge and the farm house, she is smarter than to stay in town where I could easily see her and she also knows that we've already searched the town to no avail. Call me if you find anything" David said abruptly before jumping in the cruiser and heading toward the farm house.

When he got to Emma he was going to have a few choice words for his daughter. Not only did she deliberately disobey him but she also went out of her way to put herself in danger after he and Snow had just gotten done going over with the girls about how dangerous it was for them to be off on their own. More importantly he was hoping that George hadn't beaten him to the punch and found Emma before he could.

OUAT

Emma had found a place where she could get a clear view of the living room where she finally got to see who was casting the shadows that she was briefly able to see through the window when she approached. Sure enough it was George and a few of his men that she didn't recognize. How could George be handing right under their nose and her father not known? She crept back to her hiding spot under the window to ensure that she couldn't seen and contemplated what to do.

She knew that if she called her dad and told him where she was it could put everyone in danger, but it would also give them just the advantage they need to jump on George and end this feud once and for all. Or, she could call Graham but he would probably still call her dad which brought her back to square one. She was going to have to do this one on her own.

She decided she had the element of surprise on her side and quickly backed up to get a running start

OUAT

Ella and Henry arrived at the loft with Lancelot and quickly made their way to the kitchen table to start their perspective homework assignments. Both teenagers were very good students and never had to be told to do their homework which was always something that Emma had struggled with. She hated school and homework and barely graduated high school. She was thankful that her son had not picked up her bad habits and was good at school.

Lancelot got to work with prepping a snack for the two. The little routine they had set up was working pretty well. David was able to keep an eye on Emma at the station and the two would come home before dinner and with Lancelot, he was wonderful at ensure that Ella and Henry got home safe while Snow was able to finish up with things at school before coming to relieve Lancelot of his duties as watchman.

While in the kitchen Lancelot's phone began to buzz. "Hello David, I hope everything is okay" This phrase immediately caused both teenagers to snap to attention. It wasn't like David to call Lancelot. Lancelot took notice and excused himself to the living room where he could have a private conversation. He knew the teenagers would have lots of questions but he didn't need them trying to piece things together

 _"Hey Lancelot. Emma has gone of after George and I need Snow's help. I'm sorry to ask but"_

"Don't you worry your highness, I will be more than happy to watch over Ella and Henry until you safely find Emma"

 _"I appreciate friend, also"_

"I promise they will not get wind of this"

 _"You are too good to us Lancelot. I will call as soon as we have information"_

"Don't worry about a thing, I know you will succeed" and with that the two ended the conversation. Lancelot then made his way back to the kitchen

"What did my dad say?" Ella said standing up and putting her hands on her hips. Although she took more after Snow, she was the spitting image of David in this moment

"Your father and sister ran into a snag at the station and they need your mothers tracking abilities so the three of them will be home later" Lancelot said, slightly feeling guilty for lying to the princess and young prince but knew it was for their own good.

Ella looked him up and down and looked into his eyes but got nothing. It always frustrated her the way that Lancelot was hard to read. She was just going to have to take his answer for now until she could gather her own information. "Alright" She said coldly before returning to her homework

Lancelot hoped that he had been convincing enough but knew he was going to have to keep a close eye on her.

OUAT

Emma was about to launch herself at the back door when she saw the head lights coming down the small dirt road. She knew it had to be her father. She had to give it to him that it didn't take long for him to catch up with her, but she also knew that him being her meant that he was in danger and she couldn't live with herself if she caused him to be hurt.

Within seconds she felt her phone buzz and she quickly made her way away from the house while still staying hidden. She had to find a way to get him to leave and think she was somewhere else.

She quickly answered the phone once she got far enough away but said nothing

 _"Emma, I'm done playing games with you. Now tell me where you are right now"_

Emma took a deep breath, she knew she was going to have to be extremely convincing in order to get her dad to leave the farm house. "Dad"

 _"No Emma. Now, where are you?"_

"I'm at the toll bridge"

 _"No Emma, I know you're not there because Graham would have called me and told me he found out, stop lying to me and tell me where you are!"_

 _"_ I'm looking right at him dad! Did you really think I would just come out and give myself up to him? I have to finish this" and with that Emma hung up hoping that she had given a convincing enough performance to throw her dad off the trail.

David angrily threw his phone down on the passenger seat knowing that trying to call Emma back would be pointless. Something about how Emma was talking just didn't sit right with him so he decided to venture closer to the farm house to see if he could possibly find her or, find George. But first he decided to call Snow and catch her up on what is going on.

OUAT

Ella and Henry quickly wrapped up their homework and decided to watch some Netflix but Ella couldn't stop thinking about her family and what could have come up that would take her parents both going after the situation. And why would Emma be allowed to go with them? She had to find out what was going on so she decided to dismiss herself to her room quickly to try and get some information.

Lancelot took notice and stalked closely behind knowing that Ella had to be up to something and he was going to stop it before it happened.

Ella quickly pulled out her phone and called Emma praying desperately that she would pick up.

 _"What's up kid?"_

"What is going on?"

 _"What are you talking about?"_

"Mom and dad are having Lancelot watch me and Henry because apparently you and Dad have a case that you need mom's tracking skills for and I'm not buying it. What is going on?"

 _"Alright Ella, I'm trusting you to keep this a secret and I'm only telling you because I need one person in our family to not worry do you understand?"_

"Emma...what did you do?"

 _"I need you to understand that I have to end this stupid feud between King George and our family. Dad doesn't know it but I have been picking up little pieces of news or other clues that he has left out and I snatched while he wasn't looking and I figured out that King George is at the old farm house. I was just about to break in and take him by surprise but then dad pulled up and he hasn't left let"_

"Emma this is stupid! You can't go after George by yourself!"

 _"I have to end this Ella! I'm sick of this guy coming after our family and I don't want him to hurt you or mom or dad. I have to do this"_

"What about us Emma? What are we going to do if he hurts you? You have a son! You have to stop this NOW!" At that moment Lancelot knocked on the door "I have to go, please stop this and just come home!" With that Ella quickly hung up and exited her room.

"Ella, where is Emma?" Lancelot said with his arm's crossed. He didn't want to have to do this but he also knew that Emma's safety meant more ant this time.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Ella said trying to play it off

"Ella, I know you were just talking to Emma and I know that she told you where she is. I know you care about her and I want to make sure she makes it home safe." At this point Lancelot got down to eye level with Ella "Please, help Emma. Tell me where she is"

Ella's heart jumped into her throat as she stood there with Lancelot staring directly at her. She did want to help Emma, but she also had promised her that she would tell anyone. She didn't want to betray Emma but she also wanted her to come home.

"Lancelot..." He placed his hands on her shoulders

"Ella I know you love your sister and you don't want to hurt her, but the best way you can help her is to tell me where she is"

Ella took a deep breath as what Lancelot was saying set in "She's at the farm house"

"Thank you Ella" and with that Lancelot was off to call David


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 **Sorry about the delay in updating. My life has been a bit hectic. Thanks so much for all the positive reviews. If there is anything you would like to see in this story please let me know, I do try and take all suggestions. To one reviewer a while back who said she wanted to see Charming and Snow have another baby I have other stories that include baby Neal but I'm not so sure if Neal would fit real well into this story but we will see ;)**

* * *

"David, I know where Emma is" Lancelot said in a hurried tone. He knew he needed to get this information to David as soon as possible. "Ella called her and Emma told her everything. Thankfully I caught on to who Ella was talking to and convinced her to tell me."

"Lancelot you are a God send. Thankfully I found her car out here at the farm house but I still have no sign of her and when I tried to call her she told me that she was at the troll bridge and hung up. Where did she tell Ella that she was?" David said relieved to finally know where is other daughter was

"She lied to you, she is at the farm house" Lancelot said relieved that David was already in the area

"That's what I figured. At least now I know what her plan is. Thanks a lot for the intel Lancelot"

"Any time, keep me posted and I'll be here with the other two when you return"

"I appreciate that, please let me know if Emma tries to contact Ella again" and with that David hung up the phone and called Graham to have him come and back him up.

* * *

Emma waited in the bushes where she was hiding. She had seen the lights from the car go dim but she hadn't heard her father pull away. She knew that if she went ahead and launched herself at the backdoor and her dad saw, he would come in and try and help. But if she waited for him to leave, she may have to wait until George and his men are asleep which may actually work better for her.

She then was ripped away from her thoughts when she heard another car followed by a third car pull in to the area but she couldn't tell who is was. She decided to sneak up around the side of the house to get a better look. Thankfully the third car had left it's lights on and shown a light on the fact that Snow and Graham were the other two people that had come to the small farm house. Emma knew she was not working on a shorter time frame and may have to give herself up and come back later because she knew that she hadn't covered her tracks that well and with her mother here now, she really didn't want George to come after her either. Emma was about to step out and head toward the trio when she heard the front door open.

* * *

Ella came out into the living room where Henry had decided to start playing video games now that he had finished his homework. She flopped down on the couch next to him and placed her face in her hands. She felt horrible for giving Emma up but she also felt like she was helping keep Emma safe. She didn't know what to feel at this point.

"What's wrong? Did you talk to my mom?" Henry said pausing the game and turning toward his aunt.

"Yea...she told me what she was doing..."

"Is she okay?" Henry said beginning to panic. Ella quickly realized that and placed a comforting hand on his leg. "She's fine Henry, at this point I assume she is already safe with my parents but she told me everything that she was doing and where she was but then Lancelot heard me on the phone and got me to tell him...I feel awful" She said going back to her original place with her head in her hands

"Ella don't feel bad" Henry said placing his hand on her shoulder. It was his turn to comfort her "You did exactly what you were supposed to. I love my mom but she's stubborn and she does stupid things that she isn't supposed to because she is always thinking about others above herself. She will understand"

"I really hope you're right. I want her safe, but I also understand that she wants this taken care of, if I could go after King George I would to"

"And you guys wonder why gram and gramps go to extremes" Henry said with a small laugh before going back to his video games. Ella jokingly punched him in the bicep before heading over to the kitchen where Lancelot was. She was really hoping that he had some kind of update from her parents that would make the worry in her stomach go away.

* * *

David quickly approached Snow's car as she came up on the area feeling a bit bad about bringing her out but knowing she wouldn't have had it any other way.

"David have you found her yet?" Snow said rushing to him and wrapping her arms around him

"Not yet, but Lancelot called and said that Ella had called Emma and she told Ella she was here. I also called, Graham...who is just pulling up. I figured the more people we had, the easier it would be to find her" David said with a small smile. He always felt better when he had Snow by his side.

"We are going to find her Charming. That's not a question" Snow said determined.

"The hard part is going to be not alerting those inside to our presence" Graham said approaching the couple.

"Well it would help if you turned your lights off pal" David said a bit sarcastically. Graham turned around and sprinted back toward the car. He forgot that he had turned them from automatic to manual and was really hoping he hadn't given away their presence.

"So David was in your plan?" Snow said getting anxious. At that same moment they heard the door to the old farm house creek loudly causing the trio to immediately look to the house to see George standing on the porch with a large flashlight pointed at them.

"Well it seems you finally found me Shepherd" George said with a slight smirk.

"You knew I would. When you broke out of my jail I wasn't going to simply let that slide. You don't deserve to be out and about where you can harm other people, including my family" Charming shouted back. It had made his blood boil when he had arrived at the station one morning to find the cell empty. They had finally arranged to have him sent outside of storybook the following day and now had to do all of that over again, except this time he wasn't going to let George be alone in the station to ensure that he wouldn't get a repeat performance.

"Well if you want me come get me" George taunted. Thankfully Graham had already began to move around to the far side of the house (opposite of where Emma was) to give David back up while he and Snow approached the front. As they got closer two of George cronies came out onto the porch and started to head toward David and Snow while George made a run for the back of the house. Thankfully both Graham and Emma saw this and made their way to the backdoor and easily overtook him.

"Emma?"

"Hey Graham, Thanks for coming to back us up"

" _us?_ Emma you're parents are worried sick about you! Did you really think that you could take George and his idiots on by yourself?"

"Well that was the plan. I wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt"

"Besides yourself" Graham interrupted as he secured the handcuffs around George's hands. "Now I've got him, go make sure you're parents are okay"

Emma simply nodded and made her way around the front of the house where her parents had already easily overtaken the two cronies and were putting them into the back of the cruiser. Emma approached the cruiser slowly, not sure what she was going to say to either of her parents. She knew that they were going to be more than furious with her, if anything they are going to be closer to wanting to lock her up along with the two they had just apprehended. As her father shut the door to the cruiser he and Snow both turned around and immediately caught sight of Emma approaching them and ran up and wrapped their arms around her.

"We were so worried" David said cradling her head as he always did

"Emma!" Snow let out as she joined in on the hug.

"Hey guys" Emma said in return, not really sure how to approach the elephant in the room. David then pulled Emma back from him still holding her shoulders. "Em what were you thinking? We literally had a conversation this morning about how this was a bad idea and you should have back up if you're going to do something like that and yet you deliberately go against your mother and I's wishes and come out here anyway?!"

"I'm sorry. I had finally put all the pieces together and I didn't want anyone else in our family getting hurt by him"

"Not including yourself right?" David said sarcastically

"Emma you are just as much a part of our family as the rest of us and we don't want him hurting _any_ part of our family" Snow said in her mom voice giving Emma a look that said her argument was invalid.

"It was just...after watching you guys with what happened to Ella...I couldn't take it if that happened again..." Emma said looking very much like her father and she avoided their eye contact and nervously rubbed the back of her neck.

David gently placed a hand on her cheek causing Emma to look up at him "Emma, we're your parents. Our job is to worry about you and your sister, not the other way around. I appreciate that you want to help protect this family, but it can't be at the cost of your own wellbeing"

"Emma we would have been just as worried and scared if something had happened to you and then you would have had to put Ella through seeing all of that, had you thought that through? Or how Henry would feel not having his mom?" Snow said more in a concerned voice than a condescending one.

"I'm sorry. I know I can be impulsive...But then again...can you really blame me? I have both of you as my parents" Emma said with a small smirk

"Oh blame us then!" Snow came back at her with the same smirk

"Alright Kiddo let's get you home. I'll let Graham take care of King George

"So we're good?" Emma said testing the water

"Oh we are not going to let you off that easily" Snow said understanding exactly what Emma was asking

"Your mother and I will discuss your punishment when we get home" David said helping Emma into the back of the cruiser and shutting the door. "That girl's going to give me premature gray hair" David said wrapping his arms around his wife

"She does have a point, we kind of taught her to be this way" Snow said with a slight giggle "This is probably payback for the heart attacks we gave our own parents when we were younger"

"You're probably right" David said kissing her head "Now let's get our little trouble maker home

* * *

"Hey Lancelot, any word on my family?" Ella said going to the fridge to grab a pop.

"Not yet princess, but I'm sure they will let us know soon. Thankfully you were a huge help and made it so they could narrow down their search" Lancelot said beaming at the young girl. Emma responded with a small smile that quickly turned into a frown. "What's wrong princess? You did exactly what you should do"

"I know, I just can't help but feel guilty. Emma trusted me with her secret"

"But Emma also should know that going out like that by herself is not something that your parents will take lightly. She put herself in a very dangerous position. You were helping her by making sure that she stayed safe" Lancelot said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder

"Thanks Lancelot I guess you're right"

"Now why don't you and Henry start getting ready for bed. You both still have school tomorrow" he said gently guiding her toward the living room when his phone rang

"Hello?...yes...oh good...I'm sure everyone here will be relieved to hear that...okay...see you soon"

"Was that?"

"Yes, your sister is safe and they are on their way home" Lancelot said with a grin he knew hearing that news would take the intensity that had been in the air and bring it down so that Ella and Henry could finally relax.

"I'll go tell Henry!" Ella said elated as she ran to the living room. She didn't care anymore what Emma would say, she was just glad she was safe.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 **Hey Everyone! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I have had a bunch of medical stuff that came out of nowhere and the testing and doctors appointments (along with actually being sick) has been rough but thankfully they are getting some answers and I am able to come back and start writing again! :)**

 **This story probably will only have a few more chapters so if there has been anything that you have really wanted to see please feel free to let me know!**

* * *

Charming followed Graham to the station with the two cronies in his cruiser and King George in Graham's while Snow took Emma home. It was one of the most awkward car ride of Emma's life as her mother kept mostly silent, only talking to tell Emma how upset she was. She would have preferred going with her dad to the station and helping him and Graham book the crooks they had just apprehended but neither parent was going to let that happen after her little stunt. She was sure that, on top of whatever punishment her parents came up with, she would be on desk duty for the foreseeable future. It felt like an eternity but they did eventually make it back to the loft and Emma quickly got out and headed inside. Snow was on her heels not liking the idea of Emma being out her sight. When they got to the top of the landing Ella was standing with the door opened and immediately wrapped her arms around Emma's middle and didn't let go.

"I'm so sorry Emma!...I...I" She couldn't get any more out between the tears that were falling

"Hey kid it's okay. I know you only did what you thought as right." She then pulled back a little so she could see Ella's face "I'm not mad at you. I shouldn't have put that kind of weight on your shoulders. As your sister I was wrong" Ella simply nodded and hugged her one last time before she let Henry hug is mother.

"Hey Kid. I'm sorry about all this. I didn't mean to make you worry" She said cupping the back of his head as she hugged him.

"I know mom, you were just doing what you thought was best, even if it meant putting yourself in danger"

"Which is never the best option" Snow cut in giving her daughter and grandson her look that let her know she did not approve of this line of thinking. Henry and Emma shared their own look that let the other know that they had an understanding. Emma then moved into the living room with Henry and Ella as she figured her mom would probably want to talk to Lancelot, not to mention the fact that Emma needed to get away from her mothers constant stair.

"Lancelot thank you so much for watching after Ella and Henry for us. I'm so sorry all this happened"

"It's okay Snow, I really don't mind. They are both really good kids."

"That they are" She said staring at the three in the living room talking and laughing together "Oh! I almost forgot, now that George has been apprehended we feel that we can trust Ella enough that we don't need you to go with her to school. We really do appreciate all your time with her though"

"Of course. It has been an honor getting to serve you and your family again. In some ways I felt like I had a purpose again"

"Well Charming and I talked about it and we would love for you to join the sheriff's department as one of the deputies. He can always use an extra hand and with what has happened, Emma won't be doing anything but desk duty for the foreseeable future" Snow said as more of a fact than a possibility.

"I would love to. It would be my pleasure to serve alongside your king. When would you like me to start?" Lancelot said, excited at the fact that he would once again be serving and protecting her majesties kingdom as it were.

"go ahead and take the weekend and start fresh on Monday okay?" Snow said placing a rental hand on his arm. She was so grateful for friends like Lancelot who were always more than willing to step in for their family.

"That sounds wonderful. I will see you then. I"ll go ahead and see myself out" Lancelot said with a small bow. As he approached the door David was coming back in.

"Lancelot! Thank you again for all your help! I'm sure my wife has already expressed this but I really want you to know we don't take it for granted" David said shaking his hand

"Any time, it is always a pleasure to serve. I will see you all on Monday" and with that he was off. David took a moment and saw Ella and Emma with Henry in the living room before moving to the kitchen where Snow was making hot chocolate. He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She gently leaned into his embrace and found comfort in his presence. All of this had caused her nerves to stand on end. Knowing that all of her children and her grandson were under one roof and that her husband was there to protect them gave her sense of solace.

"I love you" Charming said placing a few small kisses on her cheek and the side of her head

"I love you too" Snow said back leaning her head back so that they could share a small intimate kiss on the lips. "So what are we going to do about our oldest?" Snow said as she pulled away

"You really know how to ruin a moment don't you" Charming said sarcastically. He really wasn't sure what they could do. He felt like his was a revolving door with Emma and that no matter what they did or said she wasn't going to listen. He felt like the only thing they hadn't done was put a tracking anklet on her. Deep down he felt like a failure as a father. Both of her children had been in harms way more times than he cared to mention. Thankfully this time he was able to get to Emma before anything happened to her. But what if he hadn't? What if Emma had been able to get in and confront George on her own? What if...Suddenly he was broken out of her train of thought.

"David?" Snow said placing a soft hand on his cheek "I feel the same way" she said finally wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest.

"Snow I'm their father! If I can't..."

"David stop. You can't go there. What is important is that we were there and Emma and Ella are both home safe and sound."

"But for how long? How much longer till Emma decides to pull this stunt again? How long until another villain comes along?" David said pulling away from Snow and placing his hands on her shoulders "I feel like I'm failing Snow" he said has tears started to flood his eyes

"You're not" Came a small voice from behind them. They both quickly turned around and saw Emma standing on the other side of the island playing with her hands and staring at the floor.

"Emma..." David said feeling awful that his daughter had heard that. He felt like even more of a failure now. He was supposed to be her rock, he didn't want her to see him broken like that. "I didn't mean..."

"Please...let me just say something..." there was an uncomfortable silence for a moment as Emma tried to gather her thoughts. She hated that her father felt that way. She had never had someone who cared about her like that growing up so to have it now...it was hard for her to get used to even thought it had been a few years since they were reunited. "You both know that I have never been one to thinking about others when it comes to putting myself in dangerous positions. I know we have been a family for a while now and I love it but tonight...I just...George...I..." Emma took another moment and was about to continue when she felt two strong arms warp around her. David had made his way around the island and immediately took Emma into his arms. She didn't have to finish. He knew exactly what she meant. She didn't go after George because she wan't something bad to happen but because she didn't. She was trying to keep George from hurting her family again not even realizing how much more her family would be hurt if something had happened to her. As soon as they made contact Emma began to sob as her emotions took over.

"Shhh, it's okay. Emma you don't have to explain. I understand. I know you weren't trying to hurt anyone, you just wanted to protect us" He said rubbing her back and cupping the back of her head. After a moment he pulled back from her and cupped her face in his hands "But Emma, that's my job. As your father I'm the one who is supposed to keep this family together. That is too big of a burden for you to take on by yourself. So from now on, how about we agree that we protect our family together, okay?" Emma simply nodded and hugged him even tighter.

Charming and Snow shared a look and Snow understood where her husband was coming from. Punishing Emma wasn't an issue because she had already punished herself enough. However, as a family, they needed to set up some boundaries and agreements so that they could all be on the same page.

* * *

After they got themselves cleaned up the little family shared a round of hot chocolate and filled in Henry and Ella of what had happened with George before they all decided that it was time to head to bed as it had been a long day for all of them.

As Ella and Henry headed upstairs Henry stepped into Ella's room and shut the door.

"Henry?" Ella said a bit shocked that Henry had followed her into her room "What are you doing?"

"Are you going to be okay? With your nightmares?" He said giving her a look of concern "I can always sneak in here once my mom comes in and says goodnight to me if you want" he offered. He hated the idea of Ella being alone when she was scared

"Thank you Henry but I'll be fine. Knowing that he is locked away in jail will help things a lot. I'm sure I won't have another nightmare" She said coming over and placing her hands on his shoulders "But you are very sweet to offer to sleep in here"

"Ella..." he said not totally convinced

"Henry I promise I will be just fine. Now you should probably get to your room before my parents or your mom come in here wondering what's going on" She said opening the door to let him out. He reluctantly left her but still wasn't sure that she was really going to be okay. He wondered if he should tell his mom or his grandparents but also didn't want her to feel like he was betraying her confidence. He decided that he would sneak in after everyone was asleep so that way, if she did have a nightmare, he would be there.

* * *

It was 2:00am and Henry was laying on the floor next to his aunts bed sound asleep. It hadn't taken long for everyone to fall asleep and, thankfully, Ella was as sound a sleeper as his mother and he was able to quickly sneak in with his pillow and blanket. But right now he was being woken up by the tossing and turning and mumblings of his aunt above him. He quickly sprung up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Ella? Ella it's okay" he said trying to hold her shoulders but she easily threw him off. She got more and more violent and started saying things like "Leave me alone...no...stop...go away...I don't want to". Finally Henry decided he had to wake her up. He grabbed ahold of her shoulder and began to gently shake her. "Ella! Ella wake up! Ella it's a bad dream you need to wake up!" Finally Ella's eyes flew open and she quickly sat up and wrapped her arms around Henry.

"Ella, it's okay" He said hugging her and rubbing her back "You're okay, you're safe" he said as soothingly as possible as Ella sobbed into his shoulder. Once Ella was able to catch her breath she pulled back and wiped her face off on her pajama top.

"Henry...I'm Sorry..." She said not really making eye contact. She was embarrassed that her nephew had seen her like that

"It's okay. I wanted to be here. I have to admit, I snuck in here after you fell asleep. Ella I'm worried about you" He said placing a calming hand on her shoulder. They may basically be the same age but he always felt protective over his aunt.

"Henry you are so sweet. I'm actually glad you were here" She said not really making eye contact

"Wanna talk about it?" He said, trying to tred lightly in case she didn't want to talk.

"It's the same thing every time. I replay my kidnapping over and over again"

"Ella you really need to talk to Gram and Gramps about this..."

"NO!" She said a bit too loudly. She was quiet for a minute to see if she could hear any footsteps in case she had woken someone else up "No Henry, I can't tell them. They already worry enough and I just got them to call off their watch dog. I will be fine" Henry didn't really know what to say. He was really worried that, after this long she was still having nightmares, that things were going to get worse. He wanted to help her, but he knew he couldn't sleep on her floor every night.

"Ella, I don't think you are okay. I know that you don't want them fawning all over you, I get it." They sat for a moment before Henry thought of an idea "What if you tell my mom?"

"Emma? I mean...if she'll talk to me. I know she said she forgives me after tonight but I don't know if she'll necessarily want to help me out"

"Hey, my mom knows what she did was wrong and that you didn't have a choice. I can even vouch for you, that Lancelot pressured you. Please, I really don't think you should be handling this alone" Ella was silent for a moment. She knew her nephew was right, she knew she wasn't getting better and Emma seemed like a much more understanding option then her parents. "Okay, I'll tell Emma in the morning. Now you should probably get back to your room so that no one catches you in here" Ella said trying to lighten the mood.

"For sure. Sleep well" He said as he grabbed his makeshift bed up off the floor. "Goodnight". He quickly made his way to her room but was surprised to find his grams sitting on his bed. "OH! Hey Gramps, what are you doing in here?"

"I could ask you the same question" David said before patting the space on the bed next to him. Henry knew that his gramps was on to him and he was going to have to give Ella up wither he liked it or not.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 **Hello my loyal readers. I know it has been a while since I update this. My life got really crazy on top of the fact I was experiencing major writers block but I'm back! I'll try and update more regularly.**

 **Sorry this chapter is a little shorter but it just felt like a natural end to the chapter.**

 **Please let me know what you think about this chapter and anything that you would like to see. Your suggestions help me keep writing :)**

* * *

"So...do you want to tell me why you're leaving Ella's room with your pillow and blanket?" David said looking at his grandson

"Not really" Henry said looking down at his hands

David let out a long sigh "Buddy it's okay...I know what's going on" He said placing a gentle hand on his shoulder

"You do?" Henry said a bit surprised looking at his grandfather.

"I heard Ella talking in her sleep and saw you were already in there" He admitted

"Why didn't you come in?"

"Because when I peaked my head in I saw my grandson had already beaten me to it" He said giving Henry a look that let him know he wanted to know why Henry was in there but that he was happy he was.

"Sorry"

"Henry, I need you to tell me why you were sleeping on Ella's floor" He said seriously

"Gramps...I.."

"Henry Please. I know you don't want to break Ella's trust, but sometimes in order to protect someone, you have to break their trust for their own good"

Henry sat on the bed for a minute looking back down at his hands. He knew his grandpa was right...Ella's secret was going to end up hurting her in the end and he hated seeing her like that. "Okay...Ella has been having nightmares about her kidnapping and they aren't getting better...their getting worse" He said looking up at his gramps with sad eyes. It broke his heart watching her like she was tonight.

"Thank you Henry. I know that wasn't easy but I promise, you are helping her" Charming said before kissing his grandson's head. "Now why don't you get to bed before we all have to be up in a few hours" He said pulling back the covers at Henry adjusted himself under them.

"Gramps"

"Yea kid?"

"Are you sure she won't hate me?"

"Henry, I promise, Ella is not going to hate you. She may be a little upset, but she is going to understand, just like your mom understood why Ella told us where she was tonight" David explained "Now don't stay up fretting about his. I promise, it's all going to be okay."

"Thanks Gramps, goodnight"

"Night Kid" and with that Charming shut off the light and closed the door. He then walked back over to Ella's room and peaked in to see she was also sleeping soundly. He really was having a hard time watching both of his daughters trying to be so strong on their own and hide what was going on from him and Snow. All he wanted was to be able to take away all their pain and make everything better for them. He then returned to his bed and saw Snow sound asleep. He was going to protect his girls, all of them.

* * *

Slowly but surely each member of the family made their way down to the kitchen, Ella and Henry being the last to come down at no surprise to Charming. Living on the farm made him an early riser, even though he hadn't lived there for many years, it was something that never changed. He had done the same this morning, even after being awoken by Ella, and made breakfast for everyone.

"Charming?"

"Hello Beautiful" He said Turning from the stove and seeing his wife coming into the kitchen.

"Are you even going to grasp the term 'sleep in'" She joked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his back.

"I wish...Ella and Henry had me up in the middle of the night"

"What?" Snow said concerned lifting her head from his back and turning so she could see his face. David sighed and ran his hand down his face realizing what he had just said. He had planned on telling her but he should have been a bit more sensitive.

"Ella's having nightmares. Apparently it's been an issue. I heard her yelling in her sleep and by the time I got to her room Henry was already in there. Not that I had much of a chance to beat him to her, he had slept on her floor" He said removing the egg's from the heat and setting them aside so he could focus on Snow.

"Why...he knew?" Snow said as it dawned on her why he had done that.

"Yea, so I let him handle in which he did a good job of but I waited for him in his room and made him tell me what was going on. Snow what did we do that our daughters don't want to tel us things?"

"Honey this is normal. Kids don't always tell their parents everything" Snow said trying to make him feel better.

"But big things? Emma knew that George was in the old farm house and didn't tell us. Ella has been having nightmares where she is reliving her kidnapping over and over and she would rather tell her nephew than her parents. How am I _not_ supposed to feel like there is something wrong with me?"

"Hey, don't make this all about you. They didn't tell me either. Charming we raised two very independent woman and we told them that they could be anything and do anything and that nothing could hold them back. Unfortunately they took it to heart and now they thing they care handle everything on their own" She said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest.

"Why did we do that?" Charming said kind of jokingly

"Because you never wanted us to feel like we were limited" Came a voice from behind them. Both Snow and Charming looked up and saw Emma standing behind them.

"Emma..."

"No dad, it's my turn. You and mom didn't do anything wrong raising us to be independent woman. We would never be who we are if you hadn't. However, the other thing you taught us was that family comes first and we have to protect our family. I don't know about Ella, but I know that what I did was because I wanted to protect you and mom and Ella. And, if you're honest with yourselves, you would have done the same thing if you were in my position" She said eyeing both her parents.

"She has a point" Charming said looking down at Snow

"That's where we messed up, we passed along our recklessness" Snow said before she and Charming both moved to Emma and wrapped her in a hug.

"Thank you Em" David said kissing her head

"You're welcome. Now, I'm going to go upstairs and get ready"

"Ready for what?" Snow asked confused

"Killian and I's date"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said you were leaving the house?" David said putting his hands on his hips.

"What? Seriously?" Emma said looking between both her parents

"Emma, you just spent last night going after a bunch of dangerous men on your own almost getting yourself killed" Snow said feeling exasperated

"You're grounded. End of story" David said tapping her nose and going back to his breakfast that he was worried had gotten cold.

"What?!" Emma said shocked by her parents. "I'm a freaking adult!"

"Show us you can act like one and we can reconsider" David said in a non nonsense tone

"Mom"

"I'm with your father. You're grounded. You don't get to scare us like that and get away with it" She said grabbing plates from the cupboard. "Now go wake up your son and your sister and let's have breakfast"

Emma let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes "You're really off to a great start showing us how adult you are Em" David said tung and cheek.

"Not funny" Emma called back over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs.

"We're all together, as a family. I wouldn't want it any different" Snow said as she came over to Charming.

"Agreed...they may give me gray hair before my time, but they wouldn't be Emma and Ella if they didn't" He added placing a kiss on her lips. Things were finally getting back to normal.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

 **Hello Everyone. Sorry that you have been waiting so long for an update. I have been having so many up's and down's with my health so I haven't been having the same energy level that I normally do which means I come home after work and I just want to pass out. Please bear with me and I will try and get updates out as much as I can! Also, thank you for all your sweet comments and messages wishing me well, it seriously means so much!**

 **Now on to our story! We are going to see how Emma and Ella handle their punishments and their overprotective parents. We will also see snowing confront Ella about her dreams and hiding it from them.**

* * *

Emma went up stairs and got ready for the day but she was not happy that her parents were trying to put her under house arrest. She was a grown adult and she could do what she wanted and didn't need her parents permission. She decided to dress like she was planning on going out with Killian still and try and figure out an excuse to leave the house.

XXXX

Ella came down the stairs a bit disheveled and took a seat on one of the stools at the island before putting her head down. After her nightmare she found it hard to get back to sleep and she was really feeling the affects.

"Good morning sweetheart" Snow said coming over and wrapping her arm around her daughter. Ella looked up at her mom and forced a smile before putting her head back down on the counter top. "Did you sleep okay?" She said beginning to play with Ella's hair while she gave charming a look. He caught on to what she was trying to say and knew that it was time to talk to her about keeping things from them.

"Yea, just had a hard time falling asleep. I guess I had too much coffee yesterday", she said in a muffled voice.

"Really? Seems like it is a family trait. Henry was up late last night to" David said in a bit of a knowing tone

"Oh really? Bummer" Ella said still not moving. She knew what her parents were trying to do and she wasn't going to budge if she didn't have to.

"He you go princess" David said setting a cup of coffee in front of her. He knew it was the only way they were going to get her to lift up her head. He also knew that his daughter was a terrible liar and that it would take one look for her to crack.

"mmm this is heaven right now" she said as she held the cup in her hands and took a sip. She had picked up on Emma's own obsession with coffee, to her parents dismay.

"Ella, Any reason why Henry was sleeping on your floor last night?" David asked getting down to her eye level

Ella gulped, she knew that she had been made. She figured all the talk before was a ploy to try and get her to confess to something they were only guessing at. If they saw Henry coming out of her room, they knew a lot more than they were letting on.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about. As far as I know Henry went to bed in his room last night" She said looking into her coffee mug to avoid eye contact. Snow and Charming shared a look over her head. They were just going to have to confront her.

"Ella, honey. We know you had a nightmare last night and that last night wasn't just a one time thing" Snow said sitting down on the stool next to Ella. Ella took a deep breath and let it out, still starring at her coffee. She didn't want to talk about her nightmares. She had done a good job hiding her recent episodes from her parents and was kicking herself for being caught.

"It's really not that bad. It happens every now and again but it's gotten much better" She still wasn't making eye contact with her parents

"Ella, we know that's not true" David said not unkindly. He really didn't want to have to go around in circles with Ella but he also wanted to make sure that they handled this properly.

"Dad, it's not a big deal" She said finally looking up at him

"Ella, anything that is causing you pain is a big deal to your father and I. We just want to help you sweetheart" Snow said gently rubbing her hand in circles on Ella's back.

"I promise, it's really not a big deal, I just had a nightmare. Everyone has them from time to time" Ella said getting more defensive. She hadn't slept and she felt like her parents were ganging up on her.

"Hey gramps hey...I'm gonna go check on how my mom's coming along" Henry said stopping half-way down the stairs when he saw what as happening. He knew that Ella was not going to be happy with him.

"can I go to my room?" Ella asked, using the moment to cut off the conversation.

"Of course honey" Snow said giving Charming a sympathetic look. She wanted to talk about it to but they weren't going to get anywhere with her like this. Ella made her exit and took her coffee cup with her. Snow and Charming hoped that she would be able to get in a nap and wake up feeling better. They both took their plates of food and moved to the table.

XXXX

Emma heard a knock on the door and figured it was her parents coming to try and talk to her. "Come in"

"Hey Mom"

"Oh hey kid. I thought you were my parents. Why aren't you don't stairs getting some breakfast? I know your grandparents made a ton of food" She said putting her hair into a ponytail in the mirror.

"I was going to but they are talking to Ella"

"Why does that matter? I"m sure that they wouldn't mind if you grabbed food"

"It's not gramma and gramps, it's Ella"

"What do you mean?" Emma said turning around and facing her son

"Well, Ella's been having nightmares" Henry started

"Yea, I heard my parents talking about it this morning but what part do you play in this?"

"Well, I knew about it and I tried to get Ella to tell them and she wouldn't. So after she went to sleep I snuck into her room and slept on her floor"

"I appreciate the gesture but I'm guessing Ella didn't?" She asked trying to figure out what Henry was getting at

"Well, in the middle of the night she woke up with a nightmare. She was actually glad I was there for her but decided that, after she had calmed down I should go back to my room so no one woke up and saw me laying on her floor. When I got back to my room, gramps was sitting only bed"

Emma had moved toward Henry at this point and had moved him to sit on the bed next to her

"What did he say?"

"He had heard Ella crying and had come to check in on her when he heard it and saw that I was already in there. He also saw me carrying back in my pillow and blanket so I was kind of left with nowhere to run" He explained

"Oh, yea, I guess she would be mad if she knew that you had somehow get the cat out of the bag" Emma said finally understanding the whole picture

"Well she doesn't know unless they told her. I just didn't want to get pulled into the conversation"

"I don't blame you. We will go ahead and let them handle that one. So what do you want to do today?"

"I was thinking that we could go out with Killian and maybe do lunch?"

"You really like him don't you?" Emma said a bit surprised by her son's request, not that she was complaining.

"I do. And he makes you happy. That's what I care about Mom"

"Well thanks kid. I think that sounds like a great way to spend my day off! I just have one request"

"What?"

"You're grandparents aren't exactly keen on me going out right now and when I mentioned going out with Killian, they weren't too keen on it so let's not let them know that Killian is part of our plans okay?"

"Are you sure we should do this then?" Henry asked. He knew that his mom had crossed way over the line with his grand parents and he didn't want to push it

"Yea, I'm sure. I think the point is that they are going to think that I put you up to it, make sense?"

"Totally, I'll go get ready!" He said jumping up and heading out to his room. Emma wasn't going to lie, she was pretty happy that she wasn't going to have to necessarily lie to her parents since it was Henry's idea to go out with Killian. Now she just had to hope that her parents wouldn't object to her going out and spending an afternoon with her son.

XXXX

"David, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to give her time and we're going keep an eye on her" He said coming over and embracing his wife

"I hate this, I want to just be there for her" Snow said laying her head against his chest

"I do to. And we are here for her. I think she is really tired and maybe a little embarrassed but we will help her in the way that she needs" David reassured her. Individually they both had different ideas of how to help their daughter, but together, they always found a way to talk to their daughters in the way that they needed.

"I'm going to peak in her room and see if she is doing okay" She said lifting her head from his chest and placing a small kiss on his lips. He watched her go out the stairs and began to start cleaning up from breakfast.

XXXX

Snow walked up to Ella's room and took a deep breath. She really hoped that Ella had been able to fall asleep. She knocked on the door with no response. She put her ear up to the door and she heard heavy breathing. She decided to ho ahead and venture into the room. What she found was Ella curled up on the floor trying to catch her breath.

"Oh Honey" Snow said coming over and immediately wrapping her arms around her daughter. "Can you mimic my breathing?" She maneuvered herself so that she was behind Ella so that her daughter could feel the rise and fall of her chest. Ella laid back and allow her mom to wrap her arms around her and allow herself to be calmed down.

"There you go. Good Girl" She said as she stroked her daughters cheek and felt her breathing pattern begin to match her own. "That's my girl. Deep breaths" They remained like this for a few minutes until Ella was able to gain full control of her breathing. She sat up and turned around to face her mother. Snow took her face into her hands an used her thumbs to wipe away some of the stray tears that were falling.

"Honey, I think it's time for you us to talk. What do you think?" She said giving her daughter a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, I was just so mad" Suddenly she started gasping for air

"It's okay, calm down. I'm not upset with you. All I want is to see you happy and healthy" She said taking Ella's hands into hers to help her calm down.

"I'm...sorry...I just wanted to be strong" Ella said threw her tears

"Honey, you are so strong! Admitted that you need held makes you even stronger!" Snow said finally embracing her daughter. She hated that her daughter thought that she had to keep her nightmares a secret from them. Once Ella had calmed down a little bit she took Ella's face back into her hands "Ella, you never have to fear sharing something with your father or I. Nothing you could ever do would ever change how we feel about you in any way. Do you understand?"

Ella nodded and Snow once again embraced her. "Alright, why don't you go ahead and lay down for a little bit and when you get up we can go do something okay?"

"Sounds good, I didn't exactly sleep last night" Ella said with a. bit of a laugh at the fact that she had tried to hide that fact. Snow helped her get up into her bed and tucked her in before heading back down stairs. She hated that Ella was going through this but she knew that they were finally moving in the right direction.

XXXX

Emma and Henry quickly finished getting ready before both heading down stairs

"Emma, I already told you that you're not going out with Killian" David said a bit frustrated at what he perceived to me his daughters persistence

"Dad, relax. I'm taking Henry out to have some fun. I can't spend time with my son on my day off either?" She said with a bit of an attitude

David have her a look that let her know he wasn't appreciating her attitude before turning to his grandson "Henry, did your mom put you up to this?"

"No gramps, I promise. She asked me what I wanted to do today and I told her that I wanted to spend time just me and her. We'll probably take a walk around town, grab lunch at grannies and get some ice cream."

David eyed his grandson. He wasn't normally one to cover for his mom but he wasn't sure. However, he couldn't see anything wrong with Emma and Henry spending some time together as long as they stayed in town and Emma staid away from the station. He wasn't about to let her run off with Killian after she had given them a heart attack but she was right, he couldn't deny her a day out with her son.

"Alright, but stay in town and Emma do not go anywhere near the station do you understand me?" He said crossing his arms and looking at the two of them.

"Promise daddy, Love you!" She said before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and shooing Henry out the door. David wasn't so keen on letting her go out and about just yet after what had happened but he felt better knowing that George was locked up. He just hoped that Emma would keep her promise.

XXXX

"Nice going kid!" Emma said as they were driving away from the loft. She hadn't thought that Henry had it in him. Had he lied to her then?

"Well I am your kid. And it was my idea to go hang out with Hook so you weren't lying" Henry said giving his mom a smile

"I'm proud of you kid. Just don't use your new found powers on me, remember, I can tell when you're lying beca..."

"I know mom, it's your super power and no, I haven't lied to you" Henry said with a bit of a laugh. His mom thinking he had lied to her was kind of funny

"Alright kid, let's go have some fun" and with that Emma was off to the docs with Henry to spend a day with her pirate.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

 **Another update! Life has been absolutely insane and it's only about to get crazier. Thank you for everyone who is still reading. I always love your comments and hearing what you think and what you want to see next! You guys keep this story alive!**

 **Up next it's time to see how Emma and Henry's plan works out (or doesn't work out). We will also see how Ella is handling things and starting to open up to her parents. ENJOY!**

* * *

Snow came down the stairs just as the front door closed. "Where is Emma going?"

"She's taking Henry out for the day. He apparently asked her to spend the day with him"

"And you bought that?" She said putting her hand on her hip.

"Snow..."

"David you and I both know she put Henry up to this"

"I thought the same thing but I asked him and...well he didn't flinch or even look away. I think he was telling the truth" David said trying to defend himself. Snow was still standing with her hand on her hip and giving him a look that made him feel guilty.

"Charming..."

"Snow, I know what you're thinking and I really think that Henry was being honest with me."

"And I think you just got charmed by your own charming smile plastered on your daughter and grandson's face" She said finally coming up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist "But at least you're cute when you know you've been bested" Charming sighed and wrapped his arms around Snow before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"So you really think she used him? to get past me"

"Oh yes, they are on their way to spend time with her pirate as we speak"

"Then as nice as this is, I'm going to have to go burst her bubble" He said looking down at his wife before placing a mother kiss on her lips.

"We can let her live in her bubble for a little bit longer" Snow said before pressing her lips to his again and deepening their kiss. She figured that they were going to catch her in the act either way and could let her think she got away with it just a little while longer while they got into some trouble of their own.

"What about Ella?" David asked breaking their kiss long enough to ask his question

"She's asleep and won't wake up for a while" Snow quickly answered before she continued their kiss. She was going to enjoy some alone time with her man.

XXXX

Emma and Henry leisurely moved toward the docs on their way to meet up with Hook. Emma was starting to think that the three of them were close to becoming a real family, it was scary and exciting all at the same time. Every man in her life excluding her father had hurt her or walked out on her. It had taken a long time for her to begin to trust Hook but slowly he had shown her that he was not going to be like other men. It had taken her father a bit longer and she still wasn't sure that he was totally convinced.

"Hello Love. I thought you said you weren't going to be able to come today?"

"I decided that I wanted to spend the day with both of you!" Henry chimed in "Just don't tell my grandparents because my mom is kind of on house arrest"

"Ah, well then lad, should we have another navigation lesson?" Hook said messing up his hair a little bit.

"Sounds great!" Henry said before running aboard the ship

"And you, are a bad influence" Hook said as he wrapped his arm around Emma's waist.

"What can I say? I'm turning into a pirate" she said in a sultry voice before placing a gentle kiss on his lips

"I can live with that" he said before returning the kiss. He wasn't going to complain about her being there, not by a long shot. "Shall we go aboard before the boy starts to question where we are?" Hook said pulling back a little.

"Do we have to" Emma said beginning to kiss him again

"Hey Mom!" Henry exclaimed causing them both to fly apart and look at the boy. "I think we better get going before grandma or grandpa decide to start looking for us"

"Good plan kid, let's go" Emma said feeling her face begin to turn a bright shade of red. She quickly started heading aboard with her pirate close behind. They were going to have to get a date in just the two of them soon where they didn't have to worry about Henry or her parents interrupting them. She didn't want to repeat the "tacos'" moment that her parents had so graciously done for both she and Henry.

In just a few minutes Henry had helped Hook get the boat untied from the doc and they were off. This was exactly what she needed.

XXXX

Ella woke up a little confused as to where she was or what was even going on. She was never one to take naps but she had lost so much sleep, her body had forced her to finally stop and rest. She turned over and grabbed her phone off the night stand to see that it says 4:00pm. She groaned and pulled herself out of bed. She knew that if she didn't she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. She found her slipped and pulled them on before grabbing a sweatshirt out of her closet and heading down stairs.

"Hey princess, how are you feeling?" David said coming over and wrapping her in a hug before kissing the top of her head.

"Tired"

"Come here" He said as he guided her over to the kitchen island "Let me make you some hot chocolate"

"Hey sweet heart, did you sleep okay" Snow said over her shoulder. She was at the stove browning the meat for the marinara sauce.

"Fine" She said groggily. She was not a morning person and, even though it wasn't morning, she still wasn't into talking after just waking up

"This should help cheer you up" David said sliding the mug over to her. She immediately wrapped her hands around the warm cylinder and hummed to herself as the smell enveloped her. "Thought so" David said with a bit of a chuckle as he watched his daughters entire demeanor changed. David then immediately went back to helping Snow with dinner and they enjoyed a comfortable silence.

Ella always liked watching her parents because they moved with a synchronization that was unmatched. Somehow they anticipated the move of the other yet never missed a beat. She hoped that one day she would find someone that she could do the same with. Eventually her head started to clear and the hot chocolate had warmed her whole body. She broke away from watching her parents and noticed that Emma and Henry were nowhere to be found.

"Mom, dad? Where is Emma and Henry?"

"Henry wanted to spend the day with Emma so they went out for lunch and ice cream just the two of them"

"Oh" Ella said a bit surprised. Her dad had been very clear that Emma wasn't leaving the house. Maybe it was just because she wanted to go be with Hook

"Oh don't worry, the'll be back soon" Snow said turning around and placing her hand on Ella's. She was a little surprised at her youngest reaction.

"No, I know. It's fine. I'm just surprised is all"

"Why are you surprised" David asked crossing his arms over his chest

"Well, you were pretty insistent that neither of us were leaving the house"

"Well, you and your mom think the same thing and she pointed out that I had been bested by both your sister and your nephew. I was just on my way to burst your sisters bubble" He said before giving her a kiss on the head and heading for the door.

"Whoops" Ella said looking at her mom

"It's not our fault honey, if your sister is manipulating us, thens he dug her own grave" Snow said sympathetically before going back to wrap thing up for dinner. "Will you grab the plates and set the table?"

"Sure" Ella said getting up off the stool. She really hoped that Emma didn't come home too upset.

XXXX

David headed straight to Grannies where the two said they would be grabbing a bite to eat "Hey Granny, have you seen Emma and Henry?"

"Not that I can remember, Red? Have you seen Emma and Henry in here today?"

"No, sorry David"

"It's okay. If you do, would you mind giving me a call?"

"Sure, is everything okay?" Red asked a bit concerned

"My daughter manipulated me into letting her spend time with that pirate" David said with disgust.

"David, when are you going to realize that she loves him?"

"When I think he's good enough" He replied defensively

"Which is never" She quickly shot back. She and David and Snow had been friends for a long time and they had asked her to be Emma's God Mother, had things worked out a bit differently.

"It doesn't matter, she lied to me and I'm not letting that slide"

"Alright, well if I see them I'll let you know"

"Thanks" He said with an eye roll before leaving. He then stopped into any given Sunday and went to the park but they were nowhere to be found and no one else had seen them either. Thankfully her car and the patrol car were still parked outside the loft so he knew they couldn't have gone far. The last place he decided to look was the docs. He arrived within a few minutes but hook's boat was nowhere in sight. He decided to finally pull out his phone and call his oldest in find out where she was because he as starting to panic a little bit.

XXXX

Emma looked down at her phone and felt her blood run cold. She decided to move below deck to try and eliminate some of the background noise before she answered. "Hey Dad"

"Emma, where are you?"

"What do you mean? I'm out with Henry like I told you"

"Don't play coy with me, I want to know where you are right now!" He said a bit more frustrated.

"Dad, is something wrong? Why does it matter? I'm a grown adult!" Emma snapped back

"Something is wrong because I"m pretty sure that you and Henry worked together to pull the wool over my eyes and use your supposed 'day out' to spend time with Hook"

"Well you can think what you want but it's not true! Henry and I are on a hike! I also don't appreciate you accusing me!" Emma yelled. She knew that she had been made but she hated that her dad was treating her like a child. She was an adult and she could choose who she spent her time with.

"Emma"

"Goodbye dad" Emma said before hanging up. She then angrily threw her phone into her bag and zipped it up before returning to the main deck of the ship. Her dad was not going to tell her what to do.

XXXX

David was fed up with his daughters attitude. Then again, he shouldn't have started the conversation off at 10 and except her to not react. He only wanted to keep her daughters and grandson safe and he was feeling like a failure. He still wasn't convinced that his daughter was hiking, being that she had no sense of direction, but he decided to go home and leave well enough alone before he caused further damage. He was going to have to have a heart to heart with his daughter when she got home and apologize for his actions. If he was honest, even though he was upset with Emma for lying, he was more upset that he had been bested by the duo.

When he walked in the door he found Ella and Snow cuddled up on the couch with a bowl of spaghetti each

"So?" Snow asked a bit confused at her husband walking in alone.

"I couldn't find her"

"David!"

"Snow, I called her and she said that she and Henry went hiking. I don't know if I believe it it, but no one had seen them around town and when I checked the docs hook's boat wasn't there so I can't say she's lying"

"Did you go to the woods?"

"No, I kinda messed up" He said plopping down next to Ella and putting his arm around her

"How so?" Ella asked

"Well, I called her in a. panic and I went from 0 to 10 in an instant. I shouldn't have been so upset but I just get worried about you guys" David said pulling Ella closer. "As your dad, it's my job to make sure that you are safe. It's harder and harder for me to do that while also letting you grow up and be your own person"

"We know" Ella said laying her head on his chest. David leaned down and kissed her head before sharing a knowing look with his wife. She loved how passionate her husband was about their daughters and she wouldn't trade it for the world, no matter how carried away he got. He was just going to have to find a better was to communicate his concern without causing conflict.

XXXX

"love? Everything okay?" Hook asked as he came down to where Emma was emerging from below deck

"Well if your dad freaking out at you is okay then I'm fantastic" She responded sarcastically.

"What?" Hook asked confused

"My dad went looking for me because he doesn't trust me and he called and accused me of lying to him"

"Well did you?"

"Yes! But that's not the point! I had to lie because if my dad had his way, Ella and I would never leave the house! I know he is only going it because he cares but sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating!" She finally said in exasperation.

"I'm sorry love" Hook said. He was at a loss for words. He knew that Emma loved her parents but that she also needed to express her frustrations without judgement. He just wanted her to know that he was there for her. "I'll leave you to your thoughts" he said before departing to go back to Henry was was currently steering.

Emma allowed the sound of the water lapping along the side of the boat to calm her thoughts and allow her to take a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she was mad that she had almost been caught or that she wasn't caught. She knew the minute that she walked out the door with Henry that it was only a matter of time before her dad came looking for her. Even Henry knew that. She would have actually been concerned if he hadn't. She was feeling torn between wanting her parents involvement and not wanting them involved and she knew that they were at the point where they had to have a discussion about where the boundary lines were.

Emma then looked up and saw her son with Hook. Maybe it was time for them to move out and create a physical separation. She knew her parents wouldn't be happy but she had to do what was best for her and Henry. Her parents had given her deep roots, and now its as time to use her wings.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

 **Hello all! Wow! Two updates in a month? What is going on?! lol! Well I am glad that I am feeling inspired and feeling better again! I also appreciate all the positive responses to the last chapter! I promise that Emma's moving out will not tear the family apart! I'm more trying to follow some semblance of the actual show's storyline. I also want to explore a brother sister relationship between Hook and Ella down the road so look forward to that! :) Also, a reminder that this story doesn't follow the cannon of the curse being broken when Emma was 28. I know I've never come out and said that but if you go back I have hinted at the fact that she was a bit younger, that will come into play later.**

 **Here we go!**

* * *

Emma and Hook, along with Henry enjoyed what was left of their day together. They knew that eventually things were going to come to an end and that they were going to have to return to shore but until then, they enjoyed each other's company. It warmed Emma's heart watching her son and her boyfriend together. They got along better than she could have ever hoped. She knew that once Hook and she moved in together that Henry would accept him into their growing family. She loved her patently deeply but she also knew that, if she was even going to be able to progress in their relationship, she was going to have to move out.

Although the curse had not lasted as long as Gold had originally predicted, she and her parents have always tried to spend as much time together as possible to make up for the time lost. However, she didn't feel that moving out was taking away from spending time with her parents but rather improving the quality of the time they spent together. She also was hoping that moving out would help her parents to see her as the adult that she was. She felt like her parents still saw her as the sad pregnant 16 year old that had found them all those years ago, she had to change that view and the only way to do that is to put some separation between them.

Hook came over and snaked his arms around Emma's waist. "A penny for your thoughts love"

"I'm just thinking about how I'm ready for us to take the next step in our relationship"

"And that is?" He asked inquisitively.

Emma then turned around in his arms to face him and put her arms around his neck. "I want us to move in together"

"Are you sure you're parents are going to be okay with that?" Hook asked a bit concerned

"They'll get over it. I'm an adult and it's time to take my life into my own hands"

"If you're sure love"

"I'm sure" She said before giving him a kiss and running her fingers through his hair.

"So where are we going to live?" Hook said after a few moments

"We'll find a place that works for both of us. We can take our time and figure out what we want as we go along"

"I'm in Swan" He said before returning her kiss from before "Now I better go back and check on the lad before he sends us off to some unknown realm" He said pulling away from her. Emma was the happiest she had been in a long time. She was sure the this, her pirate and her son, were what she wanted.

XXXX

Ella enjoyed sitting between her parents with her head still on her father's chest as they sat and watched Gilmore Girls. It made Ella and Snow laugh when Luke would start acting protective or Rory like she was his daughter. Then they would both look up at David who would roll his eyes. "See, it's not just me! Every dad and dad like figure is like that!" he argued playfully.

"Sure dad, whatever you need to believe" Ella replied tagging is stomach. She and Emma had been teasing him about how he was getting a 'dad bod' as of late and they found every opportunity to remind him.

While they enjoyed this time the three of them, Emma was never far from David's mind. He hadn't heard from her since she hung up on him earlier that day and he was worried that he had really messed up bad this time and that she may not forgive him for blowing up at her. Every creak of the floor had him looking toward the door but every time, it wasn't her.

After a few episodes, Ella was starting to get tired again so Snow helped her off the couch and up to her room and left David to clean up the popcorn and blankets left behind. He began to fold up the blankets when the door actually did open. He immediately turned around and felt a wave of relief rush over him as he saw Henry and Emma come through the door, finally.

"Hey Gramps!" Henry said coming over and wrapping his arms around his grandpa's middle.

"Hey buddy. Did you and your mom have fun on you hike?" David asked sincerely

"We did! It was nice to just be outside for a whole day!" Henry replied excitedly. Emma had filled him in on the basics of their conversation (Not the yelling part) so that way he could keep their story straight.

"I'm glad. Hey, you're grandma just went upstairs with your aunt, why don't you go up and say hey" He said looking right at Emma as he talked.

"Okay" Henry said. He knew that something more had happened on the phone and his gramps was looking for a way to be alone with his mom. He was more than happy to oblige.

"I think I should go up stairs to..."

"Emma wait" David cut in. He then made his way over to Emma and placed his hands gently on her shoulders so that she was facing him "I'm sorry". Emma's eyes shot up and searched her father's face. It wasn't the first time that her father had apologized, her parents were always willing to admit when they had messed up, but it was still a shock to her when someone started off the conversation that way.

"Dad"

"No Em, it's my turn to talk. I should never have called and yelled at you like that. I'm your dad, I'm the one who is supposed to protect you and I didn't do that today. I didn't protect you from my own anger and that shouldn't have happened. Now, I'm not happy that you and Henry best it me.."

"Dad I.."

"Emma..." He said giving her a look that let her know that he knew that she and Henry had lied through their teeth and that she didn't have a chance of continuing her little story.

"I'm sorry" She said looking at the floor

"Hey" David said putting his fingers under her chin and lifting her eyes to meet his. "We both handled this poorly. You shouldn't have lied to me, but I shouldn't have treated you like a child. I know you're an adult but in my mind, you'll always be that little bundle that I held in my arms as I made my way to that wardrobe and then I see that scared and teenage pregnant girl that broke my heart all over again. I just want to protect you Em and I don't know how the best way to do that is sometimes and I overreact"

"Sometimes?" Emma joked as she wiped away the tears that had fallen down her face.

"I know" David laughed before using his thumb to help her wipe off her face "But I want you to know that my intention is always to protect you and to make sure that you have the best life you can have."

"I know daddy. I love you so much" Emma said before wrapping her arms around her father's neck. He reciprocated the hug and used his other hand to cradle her head as he always did. Cradling her head like that always brought the memories of the night the curse hit flooding back to his head and made him hold her even closer. He never wanted to fail her again.

"I'm glad to see you two making up" came Snow's voice from behind them. They both chuckled and separated before turning and facing her. She then came over and wrapped her arms around Emma. "I love you Em"

"I love you too mom"

"Don't you ever lie to us again"

"I won't" Snow then pulled back and took Emma's face into her hands "You better mean that" she said before kissing her forehead and releasing her head.

"Since you're both here, I want to talk to you about something"

"Okay, lets sit on the couch" Snow said leading the other tow over. "What's on your mind sweetheart?"

"I have given this a lot of thought and, I don't want you to really think about what I'm going to say before you say anything."

"We love you Em, you know there is nothing that you can say that would change how we feel about you" David said placing a hand on her knee

"I know dad. I just want you to know that this isn't a decision that I have come to lightly or that I'm doing out of emotion, I really have thought this through"

"Okay Em, what is it?" Snow pleaded. She was starting to get really nervous the more that Emma went on. Emma took a deep breath and stared at the floor before taking a deep breath, swallowing her fear and finally saying what had been on her mind.

"I think it's time for me to move out" She then looked up and took a visual inventory of both of her parents reactions. Both of them had a look of shock and hurt followed by a blatant look of complete sadness. She knew that they wouldn't necessarily like that she was wanting to move out, but she wasn't ready for them to be disappointed in her.

"If that's what you want Em" David finally said speaking up and looking her in the eyes. "We tried to teach you to be independent and make your own choices. If you have thought this through and know that this is what you want then we support you"

"The hardest part of being a parent Emma, is reminding yourself that you raise your children to leave and be their own person because when the time comes, your natural instinct is to hold on tighter. We want to support you in all that you do and we know that this doesn't mean that we aren't going to see you anymore, it's just going to be a little less often"

Emma looked between her parents as tears began to form. She was really ready for a fight to break out. She was sure that she was going to have to defend her position and that they were going to try and make her stay. This reaction had radically taken her off guard.

"Are you okay honey?" Snow said moving a piece of hair away from her face.

"Yea...I just...I wasn't expecting you guys to react like that"

"Honey, no matter how many times I may over react and do things I shouldn't, I am always going to love you and support you in what you feel you need to do. I'll be honest, I'm not really thrilled about you and Henry moving out and moving in with that Pirate"

"Dad, I"

"Emma, I know that having Hook move in is your end goal" He said giving her a look "But more than just that pirate moving in, I won't know when you come home every night, I won't know when you leave the house or where you're going and, as your dad, that makes me very scared because that means I can't protect you all the time. But I also know that, that's okay. It's okay that you want to move on and start a family of your own and I couldn't be happier for you"

Emma immediately hugged her dad. After everything that had happened today, she couldn't have asked for a better action. She then followed suit with her mom and gave her a long hug.

"Thank you guys! I also want you to know, I was waiting to tell Henry till I talked with you so, please don't mention it to him just yet"

"Of course Emma. It wouldn't be right to for it to come from anyone but you" Snow reassured her. "Now I think we have all had a long and emotional day and we could all use some sleep" Charming stood up and helped both of his girls up before wrapping Emma in another hug and kissing the top of her head. "I love you Em"

"I love you too daddy" and with that they all made their way to bed. Snow was right, they could all use a good nights sleep.


End file.
